Prompt: Sesshomaru is injured - "I hate you. Oh, I hate you so much right now."
"I hate you. Oh, I hate you so much right now." Kagome had managed to roll Taisho onto their skis, creating a makeshift sled in order to drag him back to his cabin. The snow had turned to freezing rain again, pelting her with icicles as she maneuvered him through the trees.
From what she could tell, the wound was superficial, but it was still bleeding like hell, matting his silver hair to his face. She'd done her best to apply pressure, using her gloves and beanie to soak up most of the blood, but she needed better light to see if there'd been any real damage.
Harsh winds had packed the snow in some areas, and blown it away in others, revealing jagged rocks around the lamppost he'd been aiming for. Taisho must've been more horizontal when he'd landed, or rolled hard, as he'd somehow hit the rock headfirst, leaving a deep gash in his scalp.
It had also knocked him unconscious.
Once the shock had worn off, Kagome had quickly checked for spinal injuries, not wanting to make things worse with her second attempted rescue. She supposed she should be grateful that he even had a cabin nearby for them to take shelter in, but her temper flared every time he veered off course. She grumbled under her breath about stubborn bastards and how she was going to strangle him when he woke up.
If he woke up.
Kagome immediately banished that thought from her mind. He was fine, just knocked out. She just had to get him warm and stitched up, and he'd be fine. Focusing on the steps for sewing up head wounds, she pushed herself forward, dragging him precariously through the snow and glancing over her shoulder every so often to check on him.
He looked paler than usual, and Kagome bit her lip, not knowing if it was from the blood loss or just him. Muscles screaming, she crested the final hill, almost moaning in relief when the cabin came into view.
"We're almost there. Just hold on a little longer," she said, digging her heels into the snow. The windows were dark, but she'd seen the generator when she'd first shown up, so she knew there would be power.
What she didn't know was if there was a back entrance. Not wanting to prolong the trip, she opted for the front door, even with the stairs. Once she'd made sure he wouldn't slide away, she set about finding the keys, delving into frozen pockets until she found what she was looking for.
Hands shaking, she turned the key, the wind causing the door to slam back against her. Groaning, Kagome grabbed a tree branch and shoved it between the hinges, glaring at it for a moment before returning to her charge. She hooked her arms under Taisho's shoulders, then began the perilous task of dragging him up the stairs and into the cabin.
All while trying not to jostle his head.
Not knowing the layout, she decided the living room was far enough, bringing him as close to the fireplace as she could before her arms finally gave out.
"Almost done," she whispered to herself. "Just get the door locked and the fire going, and then you can sit down." She still needed to check his head and clean it, but Kagome knew she wouldn't be able to start again if she stopped.
The embers in the fireplace were still warm, the flames catching almost immediately.
"I'd thank you for keeping your firewood stocked," Kagome said aloud, "but we wouldn't need it if you'd been paying attention to the weather in the first place." She waited until her fingers were a little less numb, then set about removing their outer layers. It was easier to move around in her turtleneck and form-fitting exercise pants anyway.
Rolling up her sleeves, Kagome knelt next to Taisho. His breathing hadn't changed, but he was still paler than she would've liked, even with the fire roaring beside him. She'd left the beanie on, but now it was time to assess exactly how much damage he'd done to himself.
She'd found a first aid kit in the bathroom, and after thoroughly washing her hands, and propping up his head against some towels, she slowly pulled the beanie away. The good news was the blood loss made it look a lot more serious than it actually was. The bad news was that he still needed stitches.
"You never do things the easy way, do you?" Fatigue gnawed at her, begging her to close her eyes for just a moment, but she pushed through it, wiping the blood away from the laceration in his scalp. The area was bruised, dark blotches already forming on his pale skin. How he'd managed to find the one rock in a sea of snow was beyond her.
Kagome went over the steps in her mind, then double-checked them against the instructions on the pack of sutures from the kit. Luckily, she'd recently renewed her first aid training, the images from her medical textbook still fresh in her mind.
The course was just a precaution; in all her years as a librarian, she'd never actually needed to stitch anyone up before, but she supposed there was a first time for everything.
"Now you're really going to owe me," she grumbled, holding his head in place as she pushed the curved needle through his skin. She worked in silence, taking deep breaths every so often to steady her hands. In the end, he only needed four stitches, and she sat back to admire her work.
He'd likely have a scar, but most of it would be hidden by his hair. "You know, you almost look human when you're not biting my head off." She tapped his forehead, then forced herself to get rid of the used supplies, eyes drooping from exhaustion.
She'd done her part, had saved him from bleeding out; now she could rest. Kagome eyed the couch, knowing it would be more comfortable, but she needed to stay close—just in case he went into shock.
Deciding he couldn't get mad at her for overstepping, she located his bedroom and grabbed the comforter and a pillow, settling down close enough that she'd feel if he moved. She set an alarm on her phone for an hour; it wouldn't be enough for her, but Taisho's injuries were severe enough to need scheduled wake-up calls.
The fire would need to be rebuilt by then anyway.
She checked each door and window, making sure nothing, animal or otherwise, could disturb them, then collapsed next to him, groaning as her muscles finally gave out.
The scent of pine quickly lulled her into a deep sleep.