A boy of about 11 or 12 was crouched underneath the broken building. He was lying on straw. A pool of blood was covering the straw.
"Please don't hurt me"
He said quickly.
"What happened here?"
Inuyasha asked.
"We were attacked by a demon"
He replied.
"One demon did all of this damage?"
Kagome asked.
"Yes"
His voice was fearful, his eyes were wide and his voice wasn't the only thing that told you he was scared.
"What's your name?"
She asked.
"R-r-r-r-Ryushi"
He stammered, not taking his eyes off of Inuyasha's huge sword.
"Where is your family?"
"They were killed"
"Oh my god"
They suddenly realized that the blood was coming from him!
"What happened?"
Kagome rushed over to his side and inspected the abrasions. Inuyasha picked him up and then they carried on, they stopped at a spot were there was an old discarded mill. Inuyasha placed him on a fresh bed of straw and Kagome knelt down to take a closer look and the cuts. Inuyasha's kimono was covered in blood. He headed out to the stream and took off the red part and washed them in the stream. He let them dry before putting them on. Kagome came out of the mill and headed to the closest tree.
"How is he?"
"Not good, he's already lost a lot of blood"
Sango looked as if she might puke.
"I'm not sure there is anything I can do"
She pulled off some bark and headed back into the dark mill. A little while later she came out again.
"I need to get some herbs, Miroku, can you watch him for a minute?"
"I'll go and get the herbs, what do you need?"
"Ummm, a leave from a Bloodlumber tree, a few berries off of a coniferious bush and some roots of a pigeon plant"
"Got it"
With out another word he dashed off into the woods. Kagome pulled out a cloth and placed it in the stream. She pulled it out and drained it of the extra water. She carried it into the mill and didn't come out again. A few minutes later you could hear Miroku's pounding feet and heavy pants, hurrying to get back. He dashed into the clearing and walked up to the mill. He quietly moved aside the curtain and stepped inside. He knelt down beside Kagome and pulled out a little cloth that had been folded into a pouch like thing and tied tightly with a vine. He cut the vine and took out the herbs. He passed each one to Kagome. A few of them she didn't get a response but sometimes he groaned and his face contracted in pain. Like when she used the berries of the Coniferious bush and when she used the roots. She wrapped the wounds in long bandages and then placed the blanket up to his bare collarbone. They both stood up and quietly walked out to the others.
"Well?"
"I've done the best I can, if matters get worse, we will have to take him to Kaede"
"Do you know how far that is?"
"We're the only ones he has, besides are you just going to let a poor boy die, are you?"
Sango sighed and said.
"Your right"
"Inuyasha and I will go and find something to eat tonight, we could be here for a while"
Inuyasha and Miroku disappeared into the forest. Kagome and Sango headed into the mill to set up places for all of them to sleep. They worked as quietly as they could, and didn't speak unless they had to, and when they did it was in hushed whispers. By the time Inuyasha and Miroku got back Kagome and Sango had lit a fire and taken out the cooking stuff. Sango made dinner while Kagome went to change Ryushi's bandages. Miroku and Inuyasha stared into the flames as they danced across the logs, casting eerie shadows around the clearing and on their faces. The flickering light and shadow made their faces look grave and ancient. Kagome came into the pool of light and sat down in front of the fire.