Chapter thirteen: The power over him

A heavy rain was their constant companion on the trip back home, so Shippo gave a happy yell when he saw the familiar path that would take them to their dry, warm huts.

"Sango, I'll race you to the village!" he shouted and securing his straw hat with his hand, he started running down the road and disappeared behind a curtain of water, Kirara ran playfully after him but Sango didn't follow; she was tired and had little energy to race against a pair of youkai, not that she held any hopes of catching up with them any way.

She kept her stroll as her zori sank into the muddy puddles but stopped at the familiar bifurcation on the road. Sango stared for a moment to the pathway that leaded to the bone eater's well as the last year's images came back to her memory. Was it possible that he was at…? No, no way. She knew Inuyasha was obstinate but even he wouldn't be outside with such terrible weather, so, with that conclusion, she resumed her walk and soon arrived to her hut.

"Sango, you finally returned. You must help me!"

She had barely had time to lower her furoshiki and weapons when Kaede appeared at her threshold. There was an anxious scowl on her old features and her clothes were soaked wet. Had she been outside in the rain?

"What is it, Kaede-baachan?" she asked, an ill feeling starting to form in her stomach's pit.

"It's Inuyasha." The old woman didn't make any attempt to enter the hut, rather keeping the drape open, as if waiting for Sango to come out instead.

"What's wrong?" she asked apprehensively, her posture stiffened.

"Come with me," Kaede responded and Sango, putting her straw hat on again, followed her.

"Where is he?" she asked as they marched outside the village, but the miko didn't have to answer. Sango figured it out when they took the well's pathway.

Incredulity, a feeling of deception, but mostly anger surged within her at the realization, but all of that faded away when she spotted his unconscious figure, his head laying on the wooden edge, his black hair stuck to his face.

"Inuyasha!" She ran to him and brushed his wet hair away from his eyes but she looked at Kaede, alarmed, when she felt the skin beneath her fingers. She could hear him mumbling incoherencies in a very low, rasp voice.

"Kaede-baachan, he's running a fever! He's very hot!" Sango tried to grab him by his arm but he had his hand inside his haori and even in his febrile state, he resisted her attempts.

"I know," answered Kaede as she approached them and touched his forehead, confirming Sango's words.

"What do you mean you know? Why's he here then? Why haven't you got him inside?" Sango felt her anger and frustration coming back, all of this worsened by Inuyasha's resistance to get his hand out of his damned clothes. What on earth was he clutching in there?

"He has barely moved from this place in the past two weeks, and he hardly ate, he didn't matter about the rain or anything. I did try to take him inside but he wouldn't listen. Not even the villagers I asked for help were able to remove him from here. He menaced them with Tessaiga and he would reject the quilts I brought him. I could do naught but wait for you."

Sango finally managed to pull his arm and she saw how it came out with a red yarn that was tied to his neck, meanwhile the rain kept falling and thunders crossed the sky with fury.

Intrigued, she opened his hand and discovered there a small rounded object. A closer examination revealed it to be a wooden bead.

One of the beads that belonged to that nenjo Kagome utilized to sit him.

"You fool…" she whispered and clutched the bead in her own hand, then she stood up and yanked it off his neck. Her jaw was clenched and her eyes, narrowed.

"YOU FOOL!" she screamed, rage pounding in her chest, and threw the bead as far as her arm allowed her. The small sphere disappeared between the far trees.

She turned to Inuyasha and passed his arm over her shoulders, then she tried to raise him up, but he, delirious, refused to be carried, grabbing onto the well's edge.

"No, no… I'll… I'll wait… Kag…" His mumbles became stronger and more frantic.

"For Kami's sake, Inuyasha! Stop this now!" She used all of her strength and managed to get him up, but he pushed her away, making her lose her balance and they both fell to the ground, mud spattering all over them. Kaede observed them with apprehension, wanting to help, but nowadays she hardly supported her own weight. Besides, she knew this was something only Sango could do.

"Idiot!" The young woman knelt and took the fallen man by his haori, shaking him hard, but he was unfazed. Sango, desperate, delivered a blow to his face. His cheek turned a light shade of pink.

"Get up! Fight Inuyasha! Let me help you, damn it!"

He managed to open his eyes slightly, a light of recognition passed over his features.

"Do you want to die? That's what you want? It isn't worth it! I know you're better than this! Now get up!" One more time, Sango put his arm over her shoulder and lifted him up with her. This time she felt him applying force to his legs in order to stand up.

"That's it! That's it, Inuyasha-kun!"

"Come on, we have to act quickly!" Kaede lead the way until they reached her hut. Sango had practically carried Inuyasha all the way and her legs wobbled as she lowered him to the futon, but she wouldn't have stopped even if she had fallen ten times and her knees had split. She had felt the fever radiating from him even through the rain. Was he so ill? What if he… what if he really died?

"I need you to assist me." Kaede's severe voice brought her out of her thoughts. "Take off his hakama," the old woman ordered while she was removing the haori from Inuyasha's trembling body.

"W-what?" Her eyes widened.

"This is no time for modesty, child. Come on!"

Sango felt her face burning. She was sure she was blushing madly, but she nodded and did as told.

Inuyasha kept babbling and tossing in his delirium and Sango bit her lower lip every time a painful moan left his quivering lips, instead she concentrated hard in applying cool compresses, pounding dried herbs, boiling water and whatever Kaede asked her to do, but when his moans transformed into Kagome's name once and again, her will broke. The walls suffocated her and she couldn't breath, there was something in her throat that wouldn't let her draw enough air. She had to get out of there. She just had to!

Suddenly she found herself standing outside the hut; her salty tears getting mixed with the raindrops hitting her face. She was breathing in fast, shallow gasps, as if trying to recover from a stab in the gut.

That asshole! Why was he doing this to himself? What did Kagome possess that made her so unforgettable for him? And why the hell didn't she just come back and end this stupid situation? Why didn't she just come and take that idiot away and leave her alone?

Sango let her knees fall on the dirt and took her hands to her face, sobbing uncontrollably. In that moment she hated him, she hated her, she hated both of them! But even those thoughts were erased when that unexplainable, piercing pain digging in her heart became so unbearable that it overthrew any other notion, bending her over until her head rested on her legs and her cries rocked her body.

"Sango! Bring more water!" An imperative voice obliged her to raise her head. She looked at the hut through the curtain of her deep brown hair. She really didn't want to go back in there, she wanted to run, she wanted to mount on Kirara and vanish, but she couldn't. Inuyasha needed her, even if he didn't appreciate her efforts.

"I—I'm coming Kaede-baachan," she half screamed, half whimpered.

The girl bit her bent finger until physical pain replaced the one in her chest and then, cleaned her face. She breathed as deep as she could and mustering all her self-discipline, stood up, firm, proud, like a taijiya should always be.

Yet, she felt her heart drop when she entered the hut again.

Sango had to shield her eyes from the sunlight that, for a moment, invaded the dark room, but when the drape was lowered again she discovered Kaede standing in front of her, a hot, steaming bowl of soup was stretched toward her.

"Eat this before it gets cold," the old lady offered. Sango, thankful, took the bowl and hashi from her and started eating with eagerness.

Kaede knelt next to Sango and examined the eyes of the man lying on the futon. He still was chanting a chain of nonsense and shivering uncontrollably, despite the multiple quilts thrown over his body and the hearth at the center of the hut.

"How is he?" asked a tired voice and Kaede turned to see the girl next to her; there were deep purple rings around her opaque eyes.

"Umm… It's hard to say, the fever hasn't receded. Have you been changing the compresses for cool ones as I told you?"

"Yes, as often as possible, and I gave him the infusion you prepared. What else can we do? Why isn't he reacting?" she asked with a puckered brow, leaving her bowl aside. Her worry displaced her hunger.

"It's too soon to say but I assure you I'm doing everything within my power to take him out of this state. All we can do is keep watching over him and wait. Now go ahead, eat your soup."

Sango grabbed the bowl again, keeping it tightly between her hands. She found the vegetables floating in the soup strangely hypnotizing, with their slow, circling motions blurring behind the vapor.

"Kaede-baachan… Is he going to die?" She searched the older eyes, hopeful and fearful at the same time.

"If the fever doesn't cease soon I… I don't know, but let's not think about that. He is strong, he can survive this."

"He's not strong." Sango looked away. The bitter tone in her voice surprised the miko.

"Why do you say that?" Kaede placed a hand on the girl's shoulder.

"Just… just look at what he's doing to himself… He permitted himself to crumble down over… over her, and she's not even here anymore." She bit her lower lip and turned her head away.

"Everyone falls, Sango-chan, and we tend to fall more than once, but don't shut him out, he can get up again, and he will. Now this is the last time I'll tell you this, eat your soup and then go and rest a little, you haven't slept at all, I don't want you to fall ill as well."

"I'd rather stay. I'm fine."

What had Kaede meant with shutting him out? She pondered.

"No, you're not fine, you are exhausted and that will do no good to anyone. I don't want to take care of another sick person. Moreover, you are getting in my way, child. I can't take care of Inuyasha with you going red in the face every time I have to remove the quilts from him." And indeed, Sango blushed profusely at the sole mention of it.

"But… but what if you need help?" she tried to argue.

"Then I'll call Shippo-chan, I sent him to pick some more herbs for the young man here, now that rain has stopped for a while. He should be here very soon."

"Are you sure?"

Kaede took a deep breath and grabbed Sango by the ear, picking her up the floor. "Don't make me lose my patience child, now go, go, I said it was okay."

"Ow! Alright, I'll go!" Sango stood up a little resentful and looked from Kaede to Inuyasha.

"You'll call me if anything happens, right? I'll be in my hut."

"I will."

"Well… I'll go then." She headed to the entrance.

"Sango?" Kaede's voice made her turn around.

"Yes?" she asked apprehensively.

"You forgot your soup."

A/N: This chapter was difficult to write, exploring such emotions was interesting and challenging there's no saying of how much I'll apreciate feedback. Thanks.