*Note: I do not own Inuyasha, its characters or storyline. This one is short, but the next one will be long again

Chapter 3: Malfunction

The next morning, I woke up earlier than my normal. Generally, I was always the last one to wake up so it was definitely odd when I woke up to silence. Looking around, I noticed subtle differences in my vision; it was sharper and I could see details I never knew existed. My hearing was also more attuned to my surroundings; even from this distance I could hear the faint restlessness of the water in the hot springs.

"I see you're awake too," Inuyasha said quietly. He was hunched over in his normal sitting position by the smoldering fire. The tiny embers left were soon going to fade if more wood wasn't added. There wasn't any wood left in the pile so I slowly got up and stretched.

"Yeah. I'm going to go grab some firewood again. C'mon Red," I said while nudging the pup with my foot. His little brown eyes opened to form slits and a large yawn erupted from him. He was slow to rise to his feet, though I attributed that to his injury; he still had a small limp as he walked next to me.

…

When I got back to camp, a large pile of sticks and logs compiled under my left arm, everyone was starting to rise. My walk with Red had been uneventful, but I realized I had a problem and I needed to tell Kagome as soon as possible. She was still in her sleeping bag and rubbing her eyes as I tended to the dying fire which meant I had to wait. Eventually, she began to roll her sleeping bag up so I stated hesitantly, "We need to talk Kagome."

A look of worry crossed her face as she asked, "Is everything okay?"

"Technically yes, but I have an issue. Can we go talk about it," I asked while motioning away from the group.

"Yeah, no problem," she said while placing her sleeping bag in her backpack. She looked over her shoulder and yelled to Inuyasha, "We'll be right back!" His yells could be heard as Kagome dragged me away from the group.

…

"So what's the problem," Kagome asked once we had gotten out of earshot.

"Do you notice anything different? Other than me being a demon of course," I sheepishly replied. Kagome looked at me hard for a moment, scanning all of my features, trying to find the abnormality I was referring to.

She hung her head and shame and said, "No, not really."

I was a little irked by her reply. I know I had begun living with Kagome and her family recently, but the difference I was referring to was about something from when we grew up together. Trying to give her a clue, I started to twirl with my hair. She caught onto the hint immediately and exclaimed, "Why is your hair down? You generally always have it up in a ponytail!"

"There you go," I said with a laugh. Grabbing my tail, I continued my explanation, "My tail sits right wear my pants should lay. I made a slit in the material and tied off the top part with a, now broken, hairband."

"I see."

"I can't be very useful to you guys, even with my new found demon abilities, if I'm always worried about flashing someone! Do you think the next village will have clothing or armor to accommodate my new addition," I asked, hopeful for a positive reply.

"I don't think so. A human village would have no need to make armor to meet the needs of a demon," Kagome said more to herself than to me.

I hung my head low and muttered, "Great."

"I do know a place where we might be able to get you something, but Inuyasha won't be too happy about it," Kagome said enthusiastically, though be the end her face started to contort in a funny way.

"Great! One last question," I said.

"Yes?"

"Did I tie it off well enough," I asked while spinning around to show her my makeshift wardrobe fix.

…

Before Kagome could approach Inuyasha about her idea on how to get me appropriate attire, he came storming over to us as we made it back to camp saying, "Why'd you run off? What if something would have happened to you? I can't protect you if you keep running off!"

His rant to Kagome continued and I spaced out. His worry was sweet, but not well placed. I was a demon now, inexperienced, but a demon none the less. I could have defended Kagome if needed. I snapped out of my brooding thoughts when I heard Inuyasha yell exceptionally loudly. That means she told him her idea.

"If I see that mangy wolf again, I'll kill him," Inuyasha said to further elaborate his feelings about the idea.

I wasn't too happy about his insult to my kind though. I may have been new to the gig, but that didn't mean I was immune to insults about my species. Fully annoyed I retorted to him, "Shut it dog boy before I put you in your place!"

Inuyasha seemed to have caught his slip because he calmed down and asked grudgingly, "Do we have to go?"