The Club

Christielea54

Chapter Twenty-One

Sango had rushed to the hospital as soon as she'd heard the news. The nurse attending to Miroku had called her up at the orphanage around quarter to seven in the morning. Apparently Miroku had been on his morning jog when a car took an unexpected turn and cut in front of him. They'd slammed on the brakes, but not soon enough to avoid hitting him completely. He had a bad concussion, a broken arm, and a hand that was slightly crushed, though they assured her that it would mend perfectly as long as he had a surgical operation done on it. The nurse told her that he'd been mumbling her name in the ambulance, so she'd run a search through the area for a Sango and found her.

Shippo had demanded to come along, but was currently sitting outside the room with Mushin, swinging legs that didn't quite reach the floor yet.

At first the doctors hadn't let her in, because technically visiting hours hadn't begun yet, but when he was handed over to the nurse's care, she'd been permitted to see him, the nurse telling her that "It's all up to him now."

Finding out how he was doing was almost as bad as not knowing. Miroku looked awful. His arm was in a clean white cast, and the hand at the end of it was bruised and swollen beyond recognition. His face was pale and scratched up, and his head had been bandaged at the top, some bloody hair still sticking through. Worst of all was that awful beeping sound imitating his heartbeat, and that hospital smell that covered everything.

No one had ever considered Sango a weak person, but right now she felt nauseated. She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths in hopes of settling her stomach. She slowly walked towards him and all but crumpled into the chair next to his bed.

"Oh Miroku," she whispered. "What have you done to yourself?"

Hesitantly she reached out and took his uninjured hand in her own. His hands were so much larger than her own, so much rougher. Why hadn't she noticed before? she thought frantically. Why hadn't she known he was such an early riser? Why hadn't she known that he-

She took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "You can't leave Miroku!" she squeezed her eyes shut. "Not you too! Not you too."

And then she heard the door open. She looked up, and blinking back tears, saw Kagome and Inuyasha hesitantly enter the room.

Kagome's gaze was drawn first not to Miroku, but rather to Sango. She looked a complete wreck. And no surprise either. Kagome wasn't exactly sure what had happened between the two, but gathered that Miroku was somehow the first person to befriend her after her family had been murdered. And of course there was that spark of attraction between them that Sango usually liked to ignore.

"Hey Sango," Kagome said softly.

And then the dam broke. The tears Sango had been holding back all morning were suddenly and unexpectedly streaming down her face. Immediately Kagome was at her side, loosely hugging her and holding out some tissues.

Inuyasha instead turned to Miroku, wondering what half-assed son of a bitch had tried to run over his friend! If only he could get his hands on the bastard!

Once Sango had pulled herself together, she explained to Kagome and Inuyasha what had happened.

A nurse walked in wearing one of those starched white uniforms, complete with cap, and was carrying a clipboard. She peered down at the mountain of paperwork clipped to it. "This is… Miroku?" she asked.

They nodded.

"The doctors just want some additional information," she told them. She pulled a pen out of her pocket. "Age?"

"Nineteen," Sango said.

"I see," she replied, marking something down on her paper. "And is he an organ donor?"

"What?" she breathed, certain she had misheard.

"An organ donor," the nurse repeated. "Is he one or not?"

Silence.

Suddenly Inuyasha stood up angrily, the chair flying out from behind him. "What the hell kind of question is that?!" he yelled, outraged.

"Sir, if you could keep you voice down-"

"Are you going to just start cutting him open?!"

"-forced to call security and-"

"He's not fricking dead!" The words rang in the air.

Kagome stood up too. "Maybe you should come back later," Kagome suggested trying to smile, her jaw clenched. "Much later."

The nurse narrowed her eyes, suddenly hating her job, and stalked out of the room. A different nurse peeked her head in the door. "Is everything okay in here?"

Inuyasha swore under his breath and turned away. Kagome managed a weak smile. "Fine, everything's fine."

The nurse didn't seem convinced. "If you need anything just press that button."

"Of course, thanks."

Sango had gone back to nervously playing with Miroku's good hand again, ignoring everything around her. The world was just too painful sometimes.

o0o

A few hours later Sango was making her way down the hallways in search of some food. She found Mushin getting some coffee in the waiting room. She joined him, pulling some coins out of her pocket.

He laughed. "I guess this marks the start of our vending machine diet, huh?"

She smiled. "Guess so." After getting her snack she sat down next to him. "Mushin, can I ask you something?"

"Fire away gorgeous."

Sango smiled. So that's where he gets it from! "You've known Miroku a lot longer than I have. Do you think… How do you think this will turn out?"

Instantly Mushin's face darkened. "I think… that he won't make it."

Her eyes widened, and she could feel her stomach sinking. "What? How can you say that about your own cousin?!" she demanded.

He leaned back in his chair. "I need a drink," he sighed. "Look girl… Sango, that's your name, right?"

She nodded, looking at him suspiciously.

"Miroku's father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all involved in some sort of car accident before the age of forty. All three of them died before the sun even set on their first day of being in a hospital."

Sango stood up, looking down on him angrily. "So you're just going to give up on him then?Resign yourself to the fact that he's going to die anyway? Let fate do whatever the hell it pleases? " It wasn't like her to swear.

He didn't respond.

"You don't deserve to know him!" And she left the room, for the millionth time that day holding back tears.

o0o

Kagome and Sango sat together in the now deserted waiting room. Inuyasha had taken Shippo and went out to buy some take-out food for them. It was a little past lunchtime. Belatedly she realized that she'd already missed four hours of school. She had bigger things to worry about though, and her mom had probably called them in.

She turned to look at her friend. She was almost more worried about Sango than about Miroku. She'd never seen Sango in such a sad state. She was pale, had dark circles under her eyes, and was jumping at the slightest sound. Not to mention that she was hardly touching her food.

Sango had just told her about her conversation with Mushin.

"He really said that?" Kagome asked incredulously.

Sango nodded miserably.

"Well, I wouldn't worry about it," Kagome said, ever the optimist. "I'm sure the thing with his dad was just a fluke."

"And what about his grandfather, and great-grandfather?" she asked dryly.

Kagome winced. What should she say? "Coincidence. Miroku would never give up and die because he's supposed to."

Boy did Sango ever know that. Once she had asked him why he had tried so hard to save her. He had responded with some crap about how the Buddha smiles on everyone. Now she could see that it was because he'd seen so many people he knew die already, because he was afraid of dying himself.

"But what if it's not about giving up? What if it's just too much for a body to take? What if-"

"Don't think like that Sango," Kagome said gently.

There was a pause. Then Sango spoke up again, slooking a little zoned out. "Did I ever tell you what happened when Miroku followed me down the hall that day?"

"No," Kagome replied quietly. Sango was talking to herself now, more than she was talking to Kagome.

"He found out that I was… suicidal."

Kagome couldn't help the small gasp that escaped from her. Sango?! Tried to kill herself?! Why hadn't she known about this? But when she stopped to think about it, if anyone was going to try and do that, it would make sense that it would be a girl who had just lost her family. Still, the shock was terrific.

"Kagome, if it weren't for him… I don't know if I'd even be here right now!" Tears leaked out of her eyes again. God! She was so sick of crying. "What will I do without him?"

"You won't have to do anything without him! He'll pull through!" Kagome encouraged. "I'm sure of it!" Sure Kagome was worried about Miroku too, but Sango looked like she needed reassurance a lot more than she did.

"Thanks Kagome," Sango said softly. Kagome had helped her so much, throughout the whole day.

Inuyasha walked in then, Shippo trailing after him. "Who wants some chow?"

Kagome rolled her eyes at his interrupting such a tender moment with his obnoxious behavior, but found herself suddenly thankful that Inuyasha hadn't been in any car crashes lately.

Please review! Is it getting too mushy?

Up next: Some Kagome and Inuyasha moments!