"We should see to your injuries." Kagome's voice was gentle and sad as she spoke, and Sango could tell her thoughts were elsewhere. Still, she wasn't entirely wrong. Sango could feel bruising and swelling across her torso. It made every breath painful. She didn't think anything was permanently damaged—she simply hadn't been able to put enough power into her initial throw of the hiraikotsu in the cramped quarters of the headman's house—but it would be best to have it looked at.

Or, in Kagome's case, probably poked and prodded, at best. Still, if it would make Kagome feel better… Sango didn't like it, and in fact would much rather have gone outside to take her chances with the monk, but she was willing to put up with it.

"There won't be much to see," she warned, "other than a bad bruise, that is."

"Maybe not, but we should at least make sure nothing's broken," Kagome countered.

"There's also…"

"I ain't gonna look!" Inuyasha all but snarled from across the room. Kagome winced.

There wasn't going to be anything to see even if he did look, since she had no intention of removing her chest bindings for this, but Sango still turned away as she opened the top of her kosode so Kagome could peer at the damage. As she had suspected, there was an ugly bruise nearly the exact size and shape as the hiraikotsu's edge along her ribs. It would deepen over time, but gradually begin to heal. She'd been lucky to be struck there, instead of lower where her organs might have been crushed by the impact.

Kagome looked at the bruise unhappily.

"I'm fine, really," Sango assured her. "This isn't the first time something like this has happened. I have some idea what to expect."

She had meant the comment to be reassuring, but Kagome's expression grew grim with concern.

"It was part of my training," she went on hastily. The last thing she wanted to do right now was cause Kagome any more worry. "It's going to hurt for a while, but I'll be fine. I don't think anything's broken."

But Kagome seemed fixated on the first part of what she'd said. "They hit you with your own weapon as part of your training?!"

Sango gave a quiet laugh and immediately regretted it. She was definitely going to be sore for a while. "Not on purpose. I just didn't get out of the way fast enough."

Across the room, Inuyasha snorted with amusement. He'd been so quiet after his previous outburst that Sango had nearly forgotten he was there at all. At least he could find some entertainment in her story. She wasn't entirely sure what had happened back at the village, but he had been clearly out of sorts ever since he woke up. And the tension between him and Kagome was very nearly a physical presence in the hut.

Since it didn't seem to be hurting anything except her torso, Sango continued her story. "The fighters of my village are trained to fight against all of the weapons the other fighters use. That training starts before we even choose what weapon we want to wield." She sucked in a pained breath as Kagome began prodding at her ribs one after another. "If you can counter anything the other fighters can throw at you, you've reached the point where you can start to fight youkai."

"Did you get hurt often?" Kagome asked.

"No more than any of the others," Sango told her, suddenly feeling as sad as Kagome sounded. The loss of all the other slayers was something she didn't have to avoid thinking of anymore, but it still hurt to remember. She missed them all so much. "Father always said I was the best fighter in the village… even long before that became true."

The tiniest of smiles graced Kagome's face at that, but she quickly sobered. "I'm no doctor, but I didn't feel anything broken," she said. "You're not having any trouble breathing or anything?"

"This hurts when I breathe—"she gestured to the purple splotch of the bruise across her ribs"—but otherwise, no trouble."

Kagome exhaled in relief. "Thank goodness." After seeing two of her friends struck down by their own reflected attacks, she must have feared the worst for both of them.

"I'll be fine. I just need a few days to recover," Sango told her, pulling her clothes back into their proper place.

The trouble was they probably didn't have a few days to hide here and recover. If they were lucky, they might have a few hours or an entire day. But without a decisive victory, it seemed unlikely that Naraku and his minions would withdraw for long. Especially since Inuyasha was injured. Sango had no doubt that Naraku would want to push his advantage. They would need to be ready when he did. She dreaded that thought already.

Kirara approached, mewing softly. Sango ruffled her fur absentmindedly with one hand.

She heard Kagome rise and walk across the room. She must be checking on Inuyasha. He wasn't saying anything. Was he asleep?

In the end, Sango supposed she didn't care. She was exhausted, and she wasn't likely to get a better chance to rest. She might as well make the most of the opportunity.

She laid down on the mat, which only smelled slightly musty despite having been abandoned here. No sooner had she settled herself than Kirara joined her, curling up against Sango's chest. For a moment Sango nuzzled her face into the soft fur. For a moment she could pretend none of this was happening. She clung to that sense of peace as sleep descended upon her.

The last thing she heard before falling asleep was Kagome saying, "Come on, Shippou. We should let them rest."