Anti-venom
Hot ash rained down on Rin as she traversed her way around the village. Sweat rolled down her forehead causing her to swipe at her stinging eyes. The fire had spread across the village, destroying everything its path. The small wooden homes were collapsing one by one around her.
She rounded a corner, side stepping burning debris. Her breath caught in her throat. Kohaku struggled, trapped in the arms of a large snake youkai. The man's muscular frame was nothing against the unnatural strength of the youkai. His legs kicked against the solid front of the snake to no avail. The thick corded neck of the snake reared back, and even from a distance she could see his fangs.
She gripped her sword, dashing forward. The snake tore into his shoulder, missing his neck.
"Kohaku! No!" She screamed.
Rin leapt on the back of the snake, causing him to pull his fangs from the slayer's body.
She pulled her sword up and over the youkai's head to bring it across his neck. The youkai dropped Kohaku to reach up to grab at the girl on his back.
She was quicker, and grabbing a hold of her blade with her other hand, she yanked her body backward, taking his head with her.
Its headless body slumped to the side. She crawled to Kohaku. He laid on his slide, breathing in shallow gasps.
"Kohaku! Kohaku! Answer me! Open your eyes!"
"Rin...chan?" He asked softly.
She brushed his hair out of his eyes, and he could barely open them.
His pupils were normal, which was a good sign. She unbuttoned his collar, allowing her to gently pull his armor away from the wound. The sight sickened her. His shoulder looked as though a crude knife had hacked at it. She would make that youkai regret his actions.
She stood and put two fingers in her mouth, giving a shrill whistle.
Ah-Uh soared down out of the sky landing next to them.
"Oh, thank you, Ah-Uh!" Rin exclaimed. She rushed to the bags of supplies tied to his back. All manner of items fell to the ground when she turned the bags upside down. Time was crucial. Her eyes alighted on a small vial and cloth bandages.
She settled back down next to Kohaku and gently lifted his head. She used her teeth to pull the cork from the tiny vial.
"Kohaku, this is anti-venom. You must drink it." She opened us mouth and poured a little in. "Come on, Kohaku. You need to swallow." She rubbed his throat, trying to motivate him to swallow. After a few moments, he began to drink the medicine. She leaned over to listen to his labored breath. The venom was beginning to paralyze his lungs. He began gasping for air, like a fish out of water. His eyes were wide with panic, and he clutched at his chest.
She poured more into his mouth. "Hurry Kohaku. You don't have much time. You'll quit breathing if you don't get this in you!"
His throat was slow to move, but it did. After he had swallowed the last of the anti-venom Rin set about dressing his wound. Digging around in her supplies again, she found a small bottle of sake. She uncorked it, and poured the alcohol over his wound. Kohaku remained still, his eyes glazed over. Rin chewed on her bottom lip. That had to have hurt greatly, and for him to show no reaction was troubling. She finished cleaning his wound, then wrapped it tightly knowing from experience that she must wrap it like you would a sprain to avoid any unnecessary spreading of venom.
The gaping wound would need stitching. Hopefully, once his breathing became easier, she would move him to a safer area.
Looking around her, she spotted the snake's head. Its mouth remained curled into a snarl, but its eyes were dull and lifeless. She picked it up by its dirty hair to examine it closer. Picking the head up by its disgusting hair, she examined it closer. She felt nothing but spite for the creature.
"You'll do just fine, you ugly asshole."
She pulled a small obsidian arrow tip from the inside of her kimono top, watching it glint dangerously in the firelight.
Turning the head over, she shoved the shard into the bloody stump of its neck. She tossed the head in a bag and tied to the side of Ah-Uh.
Rin knelt next to Kohaku to listen to his breathing. His chest fell in even breaths, but it sounded ragged. At least he had stopped gasping.
If he could survive it, Kohaku was in for a rough night of illness. Truth is, she had no idea if the anti-venom would work at all.
Kagome had insisted on taking some venom from a snake they had killed months ago, believing that maybe someone would be able to make a medicine that would counteract the poison. They had for the most part forgotten about that vial, but Rin had remembered before they left to grab it. She had brought that vial of venom with her to the palace, in hopes that it would be useful. Fortunately for them, Sesshoumaru's family specialized in poison, and Tortuga knew exactly what to do with the venom. Before Rin had left with Kohaku, he had given the anti-venom to her with a word of caution. "Do not use this unless you believe death is inevitable. This particular potion had not tested on humans yet. It should work on youkai just fine, but I am not sure how effective it will be for you. The snake's venom is youki based, and the medicine should dispel it from the person's system. Stay safe, and don't do anything that would force you to try it."
Rin had no other option. It was either try it, or risk losing Kohaku, and she refused to give up on him.