Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ People are Never Who They Appear to Be A Hanyou Story ❯ When Did My Life Start To Fall Apart ( Chapter 4 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Neko-youkai's in the hospital reliving his memories trying to figure out why his life took a dive for the worst when he was happy the the original Takashi Clan. Starting back when he first got amnesia.

I know some of my chapters are long but please review and tell me how they are but only if their creative criticism. Thank you ;).

Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Fantasy / Supernatural | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.25.2008 | Updated On: 04.01.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 8.1K | Visits: 171 | Status: Work In Progress

“Talking” `Thought”

Chapter 4

“When Did My Life Start To Fall Apart?”

In the hospital Neko lay in the hospital bed in a meditated state, making the doctors think he was in a coma, trying to remember as far back into his past as he could. There was a lot of things that he didn't understand about himself, like how his family name was so well known and he didn't even know who were his parents were. Truth be told before he woke up in a world that had changed so much he just wanted to live a peaceful with the one woman he loved as a ningen not a hanyou. He thought back to day he told he lost his memories . . .

A small boy woke up in a strange but almost familiar room and felt something tight wrapped around his head. He lifted his hand and felt a long piece of cloth tied in a knot on his forehead. His head suddenly exploded with pain making him roll onto his side as he curled up onto himself and began whimpering in pain. He heard someone come running in and kneeled beside him.

The person lifted him into a sitting position, placing a wet cloth to his lips, and he surprised the person by clamping his lips on the cloth as he sucked the water out. He drank with great avaricious thinking that the water would stop the pain but it didn't. The hand pulled it away but quickly brought their hand cupped with water back to him and this time it had a different taste to it, almost sour. He didn't care about the taste for it was taking care of his headache. When he finally filled his thirst he rolled toward the body beside him and curled up against it as he fell asleep.

He didn't know how long he slept but he knew it was for a long time because now he had less bandages on his head. He tried to remember his name but all he got was a headache so he decided to wait. Then his sensitive nose picked up the delicious smell of food and carefully stood up, in hopes his legs remembered how to work which they did. He left the small room and entered a somewhat larger room to find the delicious smell came from there. He saw a man, who couldn't be more the thirty as he sat with his back to him, and a woman, who looked younger than the man but her scent was different than the man's she was sitting in front of the man but didn't notice him.

The man was dressed in blue hakama with dark blue flowers and had on Yoroi Musha. His armor was a dark maroon while his chest armor was red. He had his helmet and katana on the ground by his side. He had his long black hair in a mid-high ponytail tied with a leather strap.

The woman was dressed in a short blue kimono that had no sleeves tied with a dark forest green obi and wore a tan yukata under it. She wore strange gloves that didn't cover her whole hand and her purplehair was up in a bun. Since she was facing him he could see her face was motherly yet it had a few battle scars, her magentaeyes held pain yet were filled with life.

`How do I know that is samurai armor?' he thought as he stood in the doorway.

Just as he thought about coming into the room the woman looked at him surprised but smiled and said, “Come sit.”

He stared at the man, who turned to him stare worriedly at him but then he smiled and patted the space between him and the woman. He slowly walked over and sat down as the man asked, “Would you like some soup, Neko-youkai?”

He stared at the man and asked with a scratchy voice from not being used for so long, “Is that my name?”

They looked at him stunned and the man finally asked, “You don't remember your name?”

He shook his head and said, “I don't remember anything until a few days ago . . . I think.”

The two looked at each other as the woman asked, “Do you really think that, that man really could have caused him to lose his memories?”

“It might've . . .” he answered he then turned to Neko-youkai, “Well, your name is Neko-youkai Saigo Made. Saigo Made is your family name and Neko-youkai is the name you are given by your parents. I am Kyochi Matsushita and this is Koto,” as he introduced the woman.

“Neko-youkai,” as he pointed to himself, “Kyochi-kun,” to the man, “Kuto-san,” then to the woman.

“That's right. Now let's eat.”

It was late that night and Neko-youkai couldn't sleep do to the fact he wanted to know his past. The only thing that belonged to his past was the dragon pendent that he wore around his neck and for some reason he knew that he wasn't supposes to take it off. He laid on his futon as he played with his necklace while he thought about Kyochi and Kuto. `They're so kind to me even though I don't even remember them. I want to remember but it seems whatever happened to me back in my past my mind doesn't want to remember,' he thought as he listened to the rain fall against the roof then his sharp ears caught the voices of Kyochi and Kuto talking in the eating room.

He heard Kuto tell Kyochi, “It was only two weeks ago he just started to get the nerve to leave his room to follow one of us around the house. And just a week ago he would go around the house on his own without being scarred of his own shadow. Then a few days he gained enough confidence to go outside . . .” Startled, he sat up as he heard her start to cry at her next words. “I just turned my back for two seconds . . . and . . .”

“Kuto-san,” he heard Kyochi comfort her, “You didn't know this would happen. That man was disturbed; he lost his whole family to a youkai. He always hated youkai, full, half or anybody who had youkai blood in them. He was already on the end of his rope when he saw Neko-youkai-kun.” There was a pause before he continued, “One thing I know is that if that boy's anything like he mother he wouldn't allow himself to be hurt if he did not want to be.”

“You mean he . . .”

“He let himself get hurt because he wanted to forget something. But what he wanted to forget, I don't know. When he was given to me he was pretty beat up and insecure about himself. He didn't want me to leave him alone, he said, `If I'm left alone the dragons will come and take me away.' He looked so scared and-and . . . I don't know how to explain how he looked when he told me this. At first I didn't know what he meant instead of asking him I let him follow me or have one of the mothers take care of him, with a samurai close by of course. But every time when he saw a bird's shadow he would grab onto me and cry. Then that following night he would have a nightmare. Not just a nightmare that would make you wake up but one that you would make not want to go to sleep again. The only conclusion I could think of was that he wanted to forget a part of his past and couldn't.”

“Why would he want to forget every happy memory he had?”

“I think he knew that if he wanted to forget this certain memories he had to forget all of them.”

Neko-youkai turned over and finally thought, `Well, if I purposely did this to myself then . . . I guess it would be better if I forgot about trying to get it back and start making new memories here with them.'

From that day on he never asked about his past again but he still wanted to know if he had any siblings. He soon forgot about it because now Kuto and Kyochi were his family; along with the knowledge of knowing the two falling in love with each other. Then two years later, a short man in black, compared to other full grown men he looked like a child, suddenly appeared in front of him as he played with the other children in the field just outside the village. The man had caught Neko-youkai by surprise causing him not to stop in time, and he hit the man legs, but strangely didn't knock him over.

He got up, bowed, apologized, and started to run after the other kids that were now calling to him. He felt a hand grab his collar as it jerked him back and he cried out. None of them noticed that one of the girls that were playing with their dolls had gotten up and ran to the village for help. He struggled against the man's grip and cried out as a strange fear and helplessness over took his senses. He didn't notice the man's surprise at his reaction to him or that his claws were starting to glow. Instead Neko-youkai cried out at the man, “Let go!” Tears streamed down his cheeks as he twisted and thrashed, “Let go! I said let . . . GO!”

He grabbed the man's forearm with one hand as he dug his claws into the man's skin and tore the skin away making the man let go. Jumping away he turned to face him and saw blood coming from the man's forearm. He looked down at his hand and saw blood and flesh covered and fell his fingers and nails. His left ear turned as he heard Kyochi come running down the hill. He turned to him and yelled, “I didn't mean to hurt him! H-he just wouldn't let go!”

Kyochi stopped beside him with his hand on the hilt of his katana as his gaze remained on the man. He removed his hand from the hilt as he told the children, “It is alright children! He is a friend of mine!” then turned to Neko-youkai and told him, “Don't worry. He is a youkai he'll heal fast, see?”

The boy looked at the man's arm and saw Kyochi was right, the man was already healing.

Kyochi asked the man, “What brings you here?”

“Hn . . .” was all the man said before he walked towards them.

Neko-youkai hid behind Kyochi's legs when the man was suddenly in front of them.

The man glared at him and asked in a surprisingly deep voice, “What's wrong with him?”

“I think it'd be best if we talked back at my home.”

“You tell me now . . .”

“Neko-chan, why don't you go and play with your friends,” Kyochi smiled down at him.

“Okay,” he nodded and ran off to play with the other boys.

Neko-youkai entered the house, at lunch time, slightly exhausted from running around. He looked up and saw the man in black in that corner sleeping; he had totally forgotten about him. Now that he wasn't feeling threatened and he thought the man looked familiar. Kuto called him over to eat with his favorite dish; fish and shrimp served over rice. He sat down beside her, taking the bowl and chopsticks.

Just as he was about to take the first bite they heard the man, “You're coming with me, kid.”

Neko-youkai sat there stunned before the man's words registered in his brain. He felt uncontrollable frustration that had been building up inside him for who knows how long. He suddenly released all his frustration on him as he threw his bowl at him he yelled, “I don't care who you are! But I won't go with you!”

The man easily whacked the bowl to the side before finally opening his eyes to look at him as the bowl shattered against the wall. To his surprise Kuto didn't scold him instead she backed him up, “Hiei-kun, I really think it should be Neko-youkai-kun's choice not yours.”

“Kuto-san, Neko-youkai-kun,” Kyochi said as he came in the room, “I am sorry but I agree with Hiei-kun.”

“What?” they both cried.

“Hiei-kun told me that . . . that the man that destroyed Neko-youkai-kun's home is coming after him. I-I just can't risk this village . . . I also think that it would be for the best if you went with him. I am sorry . . .”

Tears flooded Neko-youkai's eyes as he felt his world crash down around as strange pulse coursed through his body, this had been happening all day but he didn't give it a second thought. He yelled at them, “No! Not after all this time! You said that you would take care of me! You lied! You lied!”

He didn't notice their surprised expressions as he ran out of the house. Not noticing that he was going faster than he had ever gone before. He didn't stop even when he heard Kuto yelled for him to stop. He didn't know how far he ran before he stumbled and fell in the dirt. He sat up, held his knees close, and began to cry. `Why? Why Kyochi-kun? Why do you want me to leave? Am I too much trouble for you? Is it because of what I am? Or is it because I don't know who I am?'

He finally stopped crying without knowing that he had fallen asleep. He woke up to the night sky and decided that maybe it was for the best that he had to go with the man but he still didn't like it. He looked around and saw he had gone past the bounders of the village. He walked slowly back to the village and suddenly came to a stop when he smelled smoke. He ran faster towards the village fearing the worst. When he hit the clearing he came to an abrupt stop in seeing the village going up in smoke. The scene was so familiar and he feared to go any further.

“Well, looks like the neko came back,” said a familiar voice.

Neko-youkai began to tremble as he turned and saw a teenage boy standing not far from him, looking at the burning village as he held a katana in his hand resting at his side. The teen wore a black-green hakama, his long blood red hair in a high messy ponytail, he was pretty tall, and his dark blue eyes shimmered in the light of the burning village. The teen looked so familiar but he couldn't remember where he saw his face. He backed away knowing that he should run and not stand there but he couldn't move his body any further as he watched the teen look towards the moon.

“The half-moon is so unnoticed by people and thanks to it I almost didn't recognized you,” it was the teen turned to look at him, “Don't you remember me?”

Neko-youkai could only gape at the teen as he started to advance towards him.

“It doesn't matter you are going to die anyways.” He held the blade in both hands high above his head as he looked at him with an evil smirk. Neko-youkai just stood gaping as he watched the man bring the katana down in a smooth stroke over his head and then he had to shut his eyes when he felt someone push him the ground. He heard a clash of katanas blades and he opened his eyes to see Kyochi holding his ground to the teen.

“Neko-youkai-kun, run!” he told him but Neko-youkai just stood there stunned, unable to move. “Neko-youkai-kun . . . Run!”

That finally snapped him out of it and he ran, faster than he ever ran before in his life. He didn't notice the black shadow following him but was quickly falling behind. He only slowed down when hunger finally caught up to him. Not only did he not know where he was he didn't even know how to hunt. He decided that he would look for food in the morning and started to look for shelter. He found a small abandoned den under a tall old tree that was just big enough for him, or a small dog or any small animal could get into. He crawled in and dug, he used his fingers to dig out some dirt to make a small bed, and then put the dirt in front of the entrance to make the hole smaller. He curled up into a ball and fell asleep.

In the morning, he began to try to hunt small creatures but was only able to catch insects. By noon he started to reverent to his animal instincts but didn't help he still couldn't catch anything. His second time went just as bad but this time he almost caught a bird if the man in black hadn't entered the clearing and tried to catch him. The man in black had grabbed his tail and started to use it to bring Neko-youkai towards him. Since instincts had taken over he attacked the man with his new found Power Claws, he did a good number on his face, and was able to escape into his shelter.

The man in black was determined but wasn't a fool so instead of sticking his hand in to grab him, he started to cook some meat. Neko-youkai licked his lips at the smell of the meat filling the air. He wanted the meat but he knew that he would be caught if he left the safety of the den. He dared not leave his shelter and risk being captured by the man. Even as his stomach grew with hunger pains he listened to the man as he began to hear the man eat the meat. The man threw a small piece of meat into the hole, he without hesitation he grabbed it and torn into it ravenously. He waited hopeful that he would drop another piece.

The next few days it was the same thing and the man would barely give him enough food to stop his stomach from hurting. But one day it was different, Neko-youkai had caught a small squirrel when the man in black came and he took it away when he turned to run. When he got into his shelter he realized that the man had the body and he the head. He was angry at the man for taking the first meal he had ever caught and refused to eat the cooked squirrel that the man threw in the hole as the man cooked it.

“Even now you don't trust me. Can't say I blame you,” the man told him as he sat against a tree looking to the little den, “Hard to believe that you're a lot bigger than when you were born . . . Kyochi-kun told me why you didn't recognize me when I came to you. He didn't know the reason why you wanted to forget . . .”

The man's last words seemed to cause a piercing pain in Neko-youkai's heart and he grabbed his chest as the pain shook his entire body.

“What the dragon did to you wasn't right.”

Neko-youkai held his head and started to cry as he remembered horrible memories, memories he wished to stay buried. He mumbled in a small voice, “No . . . Stop . . .”

“He had no right to do that-”

“Please stop . . .” his voice finally started to get louder, “Please stop! I don't want to remember!” he started to cry,”. . . It's too painful. What they did to me . . .”

He heard something drop to the ground in front of him and he heard the man, “Then don't . . .”

For a long while there was silence and he knew that the man in black was gone. He decided to find a new shelter away from the man who had brought back painful memories. He didn't go ever far when exhaustion began to slowly set in on him as it began to snow and he instinctively changed into his iriomoteform. He found a cave and decided to sleep there until morning then would go find something more suitable for he needs. He curled up on the caves' floor and went to sleep.

Unbeknownst to him a cinderwolf yasha found him after awhile. She was a very rare but strong breed among her kind with her waist-long dark green hair and light emerald green eyes glowed even within the darkness. Her green furred tail swished in the breeze as her green furred ears would flick around at the slights sound. Her thick layers of skinned fur, which she earned from hunting for thousands of years, kept her warm from the winter elements of days and nights. She was one of the few surviving Green Cinder Wolf Youkais left in the whole Cinder Wolf Clan.

She smiled at the seven-year-old humanoid form curled up on the ground before she picked him up in caring arms and began to examinehis small body. She pushed asidehis torn-old hakama and frowned at the sight of his rib cage showing. She sensed a dark youki signature start to head in her direction and suspected that it was the person depriving the hanyou of food. She cradled the boy in one arm and ran in the direction of her den. She gave credit to her pursuer for being able to gain ground onher.

It seemed that her pursuer was determined to catch her but she was determined to keep the hanyou away from him. She let out a howl to attract her packs' attention before she stopped to carefully hide the hanyou in her medicine bag (which was empty), strapped him to her lower back, and placed her winter clothing over it. She turned to face her pursuer as he stopped not far from her with his katana out posed in an attack position. She wasn't impressed by his battle knowledge nor was she distracted by his height. For she had a few thousands years of battle experience herself and knew never judge an opponent by their looks.

She pulled out her own katana out from its sheath strapped to her waist in the front. It felt weird to pull her katana out from the front but since she had the hanyou strapped to her back she didn't want to risk hurting him. She couldn't tell what type of youkai her opponent was but she knew that he strong and could tell that he knew what he was doing. She looked the man in black up and down, who wasn't hard since he wasn't that tall, and asked, “What do you want?”

“The hanyou . . .” he told her in a surprisingly deep voice.

She didn't even try to hide the fact that she had the boy, “And what if I don't?”

“Then prepare to die,” he then charged her, prepared to kill her.

She instinctively ignited her katana in green fire and swung it to meet his bladethat was now surrounded in his own black flame. The battle went on that way for a while, both not gaining any advantage against the other. Until a fireball hit the ground between them and they quickly separated their blades as several wolves entered the area. The man quickly noticed that he was at a disadvantage and decided to leave.

The female cinder wolf's mate, the leader of the pack, Nori turned to her and demanded as his long pink hair swirled around him, “Mine-san, why are you not at the den?”

She ignored him as she took off her medicine bag and knelt down with her back to the pack. She carefully placed the bag on the ground and took out the hanyou she found. She placed her bag on her shoulder as she stood up and then turned to the rest of the pack. She smiled as she gently covered him in her furs for warmth and said, “Because I found him.”

He looked at the hanyou with displeasure and reached for the boy. Mine jerked the boy out of his reach, unknowingly waking the hanyou up, as she growled at he mate. The pack members backed away a bit so they wouldn't get caught in the middle of their fight.

“Mine-san! He's not even a wolf! I won't have him in my pack!”

“Nori-kun, you're so stubborn! It doesn't matter if he's not a wolf! You look at him, how you do expect him to defend himself? For goodness sake you can see his rib cage!” she held Neko-youkai's clothes up as she held her hands under his arms in the air and showed them.

Neko-youkai wasn't sure what was going on so he just hung there shaking from the cold air. He felt exposed to the elements just hanging there so he began to whimper and he felt the woman quickly bring him back to her warm body underneath the warm fur.

“Mine-san . . . we all know that you lost your pups but this boy won't replace them.”

“I know, but that doesn't mean I can't care for him.”

“. . . fine, but if he slows us down then he's out of here!”

“Fine, but if you send him away then you send me away as well!” she quickly turned her back to her mate and headed to their den as she coed to the hanyou, “Don't worry, I won't leave you alone . . . what's your name?”

“Saigo Made, Neko-youkai,” he answered shyly.

The woman stayed true to her promise and until he was back to health when she would leave him with the pups to hunt but only to return a little while later. He soon learned to walk on all fours for he wasn't able to keep up with the others on two feet. It took him a while to get accustomed to it but once he was he didn't know why he ever walked upright. He soon became accustomed to eating meat raw that is what Nori let him eat. Though Mine would let him and her pup, Eme, eat a bit of what they weren't suppose to. She also made him clothes to replace his old torn ones.

After only a year his feet and hands started to develop in the way that he walked and his hair grow longer and adapted the changing weather of the wild. He soon found out that from time to time he needed fruits and vegetables to keep his strength up. Along with the knowledge of that mushrooms didn't agree with him but he soon learned how to find the foods he needed. He learned his place among the pack and when to stay out of the way of the others. Along with several valuable hunting and tracking skills that Eme taught him. He also learned about his ningen form when his powers were drained on the first quarter moon.

One day Nori told him that he would be hunting with them because Yuu had gotten sick. Now Neko-youkai had a chance to show everyone that he was valuable to the pack. In mid-hunt he stopped as a strange scent filled his nose. He let out a warning growl as he turned to face a lone wolfyoukai who was in humanoid form coming out of the forest. His tail curled up in the air as it puffed out, he arched his back, his hair puffed out slightly, and his ears were forward, trying to make himself bigger, while he growled showing his teeth. He didn't notice Nori come back when he heard him growl because now his attention was on the wolf he was about to battle. They slowly started circling each other and suddenly they jumped at each other.

They tried to get at each others throats, at their faces, or their stomachs. They backed off when neither could get each other and started to circle each other again. Instinctively, Neko-youkai lashed out with his claws as his opponent tried to attack him with his own claws. His cat-like reflexes were faster than the wolf's and he wounded him in the chest. He gave him one last warning growl signaling that he would kill him if he didn't leave. Apparently the wolf didn't need anymore encouragement than that and quickly left.

Neko-youkai looked at Nori over his shoulder and quickly got on his stomach. Nori just grunted and signaled them to continue their hunt. When they found their prey, a bulk, it was he who was able to get a good grip on its' neck and slow it down. The pack soon joined in taking it down. When they went to feed, Neko-youkai waited until everyone to feed to show that he could wait. Nori didn't give any sign of respect for him but at the next hunt he asked him to join again.

Neko-youkai was happy to be with them and he never paid attention to the days like he did when he lived in the village. A year later, though, a water wolf yasha came to their boundaries and tried to get his attention while he was looking for fruits or vegetables. He found some berries but she had them and was trying to get him to enter her packs territory. He wasn't sure what he should do, his body needed the berries but he didn't want to leave his pack's territory. He saw the other pack in the woods waiting but what they were waiting for he didn't know.

He was about to reach across the boundary when Mine jumped beside him pushing him away from the she-wolf. Next thing he knew the whole pack was in front of him blocking him from the she-wolf. Nori growled at other pack's leader proving that Neko-youkai was part of his pack and if she wanted him she had to come to their pack. The other leader refused and led his pack away. Nori turned to Neko-youkai and Neko-youkai went low onto his stomach with his tail between his legs. He crawled as low to the ground as he could to him hoping Nori would forgive him.

He glared at him and Neko-youkai quickly showed his belly to show his submissiveness. Nori grunted and rubbed against him, showing the other pack that they couldn't have the cat-boy. After that Mine led Neko-youkai to a spot to where he could get many berries from without wondering too close the boundaries.

About four years later the night of the first quarter moon in the middle of the season. Neko-youkai had grown as tall as a ten year-old but was stronger and prouder. He wasn't a scrawny cat anymore, like the rivaling packs would call him and his pack members just to have fun with him. He had gained more muscles in his arms and legs; he could cover more ground now without using so much energy. His hair had grown out to completely cover his backside to the end of his butt. But now he was running through his' packs territory trying to escape a black shadow that had begun to follow him at noon when he completely lost his powers.

He couldn't seem to lose the shadow the good thing was the shadow wasn't gaining on him. He let out a howl, one of the few times he would call for help, as he continued to run. The only reason he called for help was because he knew the shadow was trying to run him into exhaustion and it was working. He heard a sudden explosion in front and above him. He heard a large tree start to fall to the ground and he tried to increase his speed. He leaped over a small ditch when the tree landed on his left leg. He was lucky because the ground under that foot gave away so the tree didn't break his leg.

He dug his claws into the ground trying to pull himself away and tried even harder when he heard the shadow land on the tree. He heard the shadow talk in an old forgotten tongue he once knew. He supported himself on his hands, took a deep breath, and let loose a howl calling for his pack. He heard the shadows feet land on the ground beside him and it grabbed his hair in a tight painful grasp.

Neko-youkai refused to make any sounds of pains to the shadow that held him. He heard the shadow still trying to communicate with him but he still couldn't understand him. He began to growl at the shadow as he heard his packs' foot steps heading towards them. The shadow seemed to examine him as tried to pull himself away by digging his claws into the dirt. Just then his pack mother jumped out of the forest with her katana out and did a side swing at the shadow.

The shadow jumped away on top of the tree at the last second as the rest of the pack came to Neko-youkai's aid. Eme knelt beside him as she kept an eye on the shadow. Mine led half the pack after the shadow while the other half stayed to move the tree. The others were already long gone from sight when they got the tree off of his foot. He pulled his foot out just as they all sensed the shadow come back towards them.

The shadow suddenly grabbed him by his neck and slammed him against a tree. He grabbed the shadows arm and dug his fingernails into its flesh. The shadow didn't even budge at the fingernails tearing at his skin. Neko-youkai lifted up feet and slammed his feet into the shadow's stomach. The shadow was barely moved by it and it started to speak to the alpha male. He looked down at the shadows arms and saw how close it was to his mouth.

The shadow grunted as Neko-youkai bit into his flesh as he thought, `There's more than one way to escape.'

Just as the shadow released him and Neko-youkai let go of its arm an arrow hit the tree in the spot between their heads. They all looked and saw a female taller than the shadow that looked like she didn't wear anything holding a strange weapon in her hand, on her back, and on her waist. They heard her yell something at the other shadow and ran at it when she place what she was holding on her back as she pulled the weapons on her waist. The shadow ran and she went after it leaving the pack alone.

Hakama is martial arts uniforms that are worn by samurais and priestess.

Yoroi Musha literally means warrior in armor.

For a samurai long hair, that a usually up in high ponytails, are a symbol of honor if they're cut they lose it.

Power claws, one of Neko-youkai's special moves as a hanyou.

Cinder is another word for fire.

Lone wolves aren't really welcomed among the packs unless they're willing to obey everything the leader says.

She-wolf just basically means female wolf.