Keade exits the hut with her head hung low, a look of sorrow pained her face. Shippo; who'd been on his way back notices she's clearly upset about something and rushes over. He stops just short of her as she mumbles, "There's not much time left I'm afraid." Her voice cracks with emotion.
"You don't mean that Sango is gonna-" he stops unable to utter the word. "Do you?" he asks his voice now full of fear.
"It doesn't look good. She hasn't woken up, her fever is still spiked, and she's not responding to the few treatments I've been able to give her." Keade says as a single tear slides down the cheek of her good eye.
"Does Miroku know?" Shippo asks stepping closer to console the crying hag.
"I haven't the heart to tell him." Keade slumps against Shippo now. "I've failed him." She submits, and falls captive to her guilt. The old woman trembles as she sobs relentlessly into Shippos' arms.
Shippo looks down at the elder, this woman had always been a woman to give respect. He'd never questioned that, even Inuyasha didn't question that. She's been there from the start helping, and teaching the group as a mother would, providing food and support. And, to see a woman of her stature pour like this, it became hard for him to be the boulder of strength she needed right now. Though his eyes had begun to burn, and his nose began to run he only looked skyward, cleared his throat, swallowed hard once or twice, and stroked the elders hair. However; the village Priestess sobbing caught the attention of quite a few villagers. With a quick glare and flick of his wrist the crowd moved on, providing the solitude both he and Keade needed.
"It's not your fault, Keade." Shippo begins. Choking to keep his grip on what little strength he'd mustered. "You did everything you could." He says with a little more ease. Yes, it was sad that Sango was going to die. Heart wrenching really, and the thought of losing her was painstakingly unbearable, but it was not Keades' fault that it had come to this. She needed to know that right now. That no one blames her. "Sometimes, these things just happen." He finishes.
"No, she can't die! She just can't! There's got to be something I haven't tried!" She spouts and pushes away. Shippo lunges forward to capture her frail wrist.
"No, Keade. No." He pulls her back into his chest and resumes stroking her hair. "You'll only beat yourself up more. You haven't slept or eaten at all these past two days. It's time to let her go." He says pushing her away by her shoulders to look her in the eyes. "The only thing left to do-" he stops to mentally sigh. "-Is tell Miroku."
"I can't." Her face crinkles. "I'm sorry. I can't."
"That's okay, Keade. I'll do it." He ushers her to a nearby rock and starts to help her sit. Right then Miroku rushes out of the hut. Shippo and Keades' attention is diverted to the Monk who has blood splattered on his face.
"Something's wrong!" he shouts terrified. Keade stands back up so abruptly it sends Shippo backwards a few steps. She is on her way back into the hut in a flash. Shippo; bewildered momentarily by the sudden onslaught of sequences finally finds his words.
"What do you mean? What happened?" he asks approaching the frightened Monk now, noting finer details about the man as he did. His hands were trembling, he had blood spattered across his cheeks and forehead, his eyes were wide and full of fear, his face was whitening more and more by the second, but what held his attention for a moment longer than the rest of the noted details was a singular drop of red liquid that rested on his bottom lip.
As Keade rushes past the Monk into the hut she finds a new stronger determination. But, nothing could've prepared her for what she was to witness as she past the threshold. Sango convulsed aggressively on her futon now, her eyes were rolled back into her skull, her lips stained with blood. Keade stood frozen as she watched the frail body of her injured friend violently thrash around, her thin arms recklessly hitting the wall, the heels of her feet kicking the hardwood. It wasn't until Sango expels another mouthful of blood that Keade is violently ripped from the nightmare she thought she was having back into the horror that was reality.
She pushes forward with a shake of her head, and begins trying to restrain Sangos' wrists while trying to tilt her head over and down to help get the blood out of her moth, and clear her airway. However; as soon as Keade has her head tilted so the blood may drain from her mouth Sangos' body suddenly goes limp. Keades' initial reaction is to drop the wrists that she'd been trying to restrain and focus on her chest to see if she was breathing. Though she tried, she could not see through the tears that blinded her only eye, and resorted to feeling for a pulse instead. When she finds none she quickly intertwines her fingers, pressing her palms together making a solid hammer of her fists. She raises her arms sky high, and makes hard contact with Sangos' chest in hopes of jumpstarting her heart.
A cold gust of wind temporarily fills the room, and Keade assumes that Shippo and Miroku have come back to check up. Though she did not hinder her pace to find out. She's focused son intently on Sangos' face; waiting, hoping, praying that her eyes will open or she'll heave for air or in pain. Something. Instead, she watched each time hitting harder, but Sango only jolted when Keade made contact. Her eyes did not open, and she did not heave for air or cry out in pain. Her translucent skin shimmered with sweat, and besides her disturbingly angular face spattered with blood she looked like she was sleeping. Another hard slam, this time a loud snap silences the room. Keade knew exactly what that sound was, and had no doubt Miroku knew as well. A broken rib was better than a stopped heart any day though. However; knowing that she was furthering Sangos' injuries made the woman weep more. Tears fell like rain onto Sangos' soiled Kimono. Another crack, another rib. The elder shook with emotion but refused to stop hammering. Another gust of wind suggested that one of the two, if not both, had lost control and had to exit. Again, she did not cease to see.
Another crack. That's three ribs she'd sacrificed in hopes of restarting Sangos' heart. And, though the woman was winded, sweating and losing momentum from the emotion that now had her shoulders heaving, she did not sop. She continued for a handful more times with this procedure before she heard Shippo who she hadn't even noticed had returned say,
"Keade…" He begins. His voice was filled with resignation, and she just wasn't ready for that yet. She wasn't ready to resign.
"No!" she interrupts continuing.
"Keade, she's gone." He urges.
"No!" she shouts pounding again. Shippo grabs her hands as they reach skyward once more , and she finally relents.
"She's gone." He says solemnly.
