CHAPTER SIXTEEN

.

The sun rose, and Sango rose with it. She yawned and stretched, and glanced over at Shippo. He was still asleep, curled up under his fluffy tail. It had taken him a long time to get to sleep the previous night; Sango expected him to sleep in.

Then the slayer looked over her shoulder, at the little run-down shack. The curtain hadn't budged all night. Her heart began to sink. So Inuyasha hadn't woken, despite Kagome's hopes.

Sango was beginning to think that for whichever reason -- his horrible injury or his despair -- Inuyasha might never wake up. It happened sometimes, when the body or soul was too badly damaged. She remembered vividly a few years before when one of her fellow slayers had been bashed over the head by a demon's death throes. The man's skull had been badly fractured, and the best efforts of the best herbalists couldn't save him. Like Inuyasha, he had sunk into a dreamless, unwaking sleep. He had been unable to eat or drink, never moving or giving any sign of life, wasting a little more every day. His wife had wept every day, staying by his bed. But he had finally died, and the village breathed a collective sigh of relief, glad that he was no longer suffering.

She grimaced and shook her head. I would rather kill Inuyasha than let him and Kagome through that kind of pain, she thought miserably. And she knew that Inuyasha, whose pride was his strength, would rather die than live like that. But she still felt horrible even thinking such a thing -- he was her friend.

Sango sagged back against a tree trunk, resting her hand on her short sword. I just hope Inuyasha recovers... he's strong. Surely.

Then she sat up. Kagome had just stepped out of the hut. Her face was flushed and fatigued, and her eyes were puffy from tears. For a moment, Sango expected to hear the worst. Then her friend smiled slightly. "He woke up last night," she said softly.

"Inuyasha?"

"Uh-huh."

"He really woke?"

"Uh-huh. We talked for a little while."

Sango smiled. "I'm glad, Kagome..."

As Kagome went back inside, a second figure stepped out of the hut, bleary-eyed and rumpled. "Miroku!" Sango said, clutching his arm. "Careful."

"Wha' happened to me?" Miroku said, sounding a little disoriented. He ran his fingers through his short black hair. "I remember... hunting that demon to a village..."

"Yes, and the demon covered you in the illusion of fire. You were shaking and sick afterwards. So I brought you back here to recover."

"Yes, that's right," Miroku said a little more clearly. "Now I remember. Oh, my head hurts... it was just like being burned in real life. The most convincing illusion I've ever seen... ugh!" He pressed a hand to his eyes.

"Are you going to be all right, Miroku?" Sango said, putting an arm around his shoulders. He still looks so shaky and pale, she thought.

Then she felt a gentle rubbing on her backside.

"I am now," the monk sighed blissfully.

A few minutes later, a scowling Sango stepped over to the doorway of the hut, with her hand still tingling. Kagome was there, with a little jar of Kaede's ointment in her hand. "Sango, could you do me a favor?" she asked.

"Of course, anything."

"Could you rub some of this ointment on Inuyasha's wound?"

Sango frowned. "Won't he want you to do it?"

Kagome avoided the slayer's eyes. "Inuyasha... he gets all creeped out when I touch him," she said reluctantly. "It's because I... I almost killed him. So... I mean, of course I don't want to make him feel uncomfortable, especially now."

Sango held out her hand. "All right, I'll try."

.

Inuyasha opened his eyes, blinking to clear away the haziness. He could feel someone sitting beside him, rubbing something cold into his chest. "Who'zere?" he mumbled.

"It's me," Sango said. She smeared a little more ointment on his chest. Inuyasha grimaced. Her hands were strong, but they weren't as gentle and soft as Kagome's. He could feel calluses on her fingers from her long training.

Suddenly he groaned, and rolled over onto his stomach. His right arm trembled as he dropped heavily onto the straw.

"Inuyasha?" Sango said, startled.

"Go 'way. I want Kagome..."

There was a faint rustling, and Inuyasha closed his eyes. A moment later, he felt Kagome's fingers on his back. "Inuyasha, you have to lie on your back," she said timidly. "If you lie like that, you're going to get straw in your wound..."

Inuyasha grunted, and allowed Kagome to roll him back. The gash in his chest was throbbing, and his arm was still useless. The touch of Kagome's hands was both soothing and alarming -- her hands were so warm and soft, but he could feel his body recoiling as she began rubbing in the ointment. He tried to go rigid, so his abused muscles couldn't shiver, but only felt her draw away.

"Are you... sure you want me to do this?" Kagome asked hesitantly.

"Yeah. Just keep goin'." Inuyasha closed his eyes tightly, trying to quench his irrational fears. He didn't see the tears rising in Kagome's eyes.

TO BE CONTINUED