Dying to Live
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.
Note 1: Updated, Announcement: I'm afraid I've been slow on getting newly published chapters on FF Net since back when May started. Some new changes in life offline have caused some pretty big alterations to my weekly scheduling. I'm working a few things out to find a more settled down time to write again, but while that's going on, I figure I can take advantage of the fact that editing and reposting chapters can keep going even while I'm on the go so much. Therefore, you will continue to see the reposting of chapters of Dying to Live going on for AO3.
Thanks for understanding and being the best readers! I'll continue to hang out on Tumblr while things settle down too, so you'll still see me around - please follow / drop a message! - on Tumblr at: origamikungfuwrites
-18 June 2022
Note 2: For this chapter specifically, I just wanted to give a heads up. I am no medical expert, but I made an effort to do a little bit of research on things covered in this chapter to help flesh it out and add to the believability. However, I realize that for some, the medical detail could be a bit heavy. Though it's not overly graphic, to be on the safe side, this part is enclosed at start and end with a set of "***" for those who wish to skip this detail.
I had fun writing Kagome and Inuyasha in the chapter so hope you enjoy!
:::
Inuyasha felt a bit like he was walking in a dream. He shuffled down the shockingly white and sterile hallway of the University Hospital's Respiratory Medicine Ward. Carefully, he carried two covered, Styrofoam cups, steaming with steeping green tea bags.
Finally, he made it back to where Kagome sat in a waiting area, a bay of chairs with a low table at the end of a hall of the ward, not far from a nurses' station.
It wasn't that he and Kagome hadn't slept at all between Friday night and that Monday afternoon. Still, for Kagome this was worse, for at least he had still been in his youkai form in the Feudal Era until Saturday morning. Therefore, they had slept at least a little, as Kagome had warned him: they would pass out if they didn't sleep at least a bit here and there.
Yet, it was the least amount of sleep the part-time demon had ever operated on in a multi-day period as a human.
And Inuyasha had to admit it: it felt pretty awful.
He sat down quietly next to Kagome and blew on his tea through the opening in the plastic lid. When she did not look up right away from the paperwork she had spread across the low coffee table in the middle of the seating area, Inuyasha absentmindedly ran the back of his knuckles across the dark bristles that had grown in on his chin and cheeks.
He hadn't shaved on Saturday morning when he'd come into the house because he hadn't needed to. By late Saturday afternoon, Souta had come home to shower, and then promptly brought Inuyasha back to a district hospital in Shinjuku where Miroku had first been admitted.
Once Souta and he met up with Kagome in the Shinjuku hospital, his wife and brother-in-law helped explain how Miroku had reached them in the middle of the omiai dinner.
Details about what Miroku had been doing before appearing at the Higurashi Shrine were sparse since their friend had already been under a terrible fever. To Inuyasha's relief, the monk had apparently made clear to Souta somehow that only he was sick or in poor condition. Otherwise, it seemed like the monk had left everything under control with Kohaku and Shippou.
The monk had also apparently left Kirara in Kaede's village so that the nekomata could take them to where the group were camped and resting. Knowing this, at first Inuyasha had been very irritated that he didn't find any sign of the nekomata when he passed through the village. However, he had to admit that if he had run into the cat demon, perhaps he would have delayed returning to the modern era…
And obviously, he would come to know that would not have been for the best.
Regardless, with the way Kagome watched him digest the information on Saturday afternoon, he knew his wife could tell that he was not exactly satisfied to hear that only Sango's little brother and Shippou were left in charge of his half-brother.
His concern soon felt futile by comparison though. Kagome and Souta nervously moved on to the more pressing topic at hand: Miroku's emergency hospitalization.
Inuyasha was quickly taken on an agonizingly rushed crash course of modern medical treatment for respiratory issues.
Brother and sister did their best to patiently explain the situation. In spite of all the medical advancements available, Kagome and Souta both admitted that Miroku's condition was more complicated than anyone even in the modern era liked to see.
Late afternoon turned to evening. Finally, Inuyasha had understood this much: Miroku had been rushed by emergency transport to the hospital in Shinjuku. Because medical personnel had to be called to the house, Souta's omiai had been quickly ended, which everyone had immediately understood - except Sango, who they had carefully taken back to her bedroom even before the Takadas had left the house.
When the emergency medics reached the house, Kagome's mother and grandfather had stayed with Sango upstairs. There, they had the unfortunate task of explaining that Miroku had suddenly appeared at the kitchen back door so sick that none of them in the bedroom dared to go near him. With no knowledge of what had made him so sick, at the highest risk for infectious disease Sango, for her pregnancy, and Grandpa, for his age, could not be in the same room with him.
This had turned out to be a good precaution, as Miroku had been almost unconscious by the time the medics had him loaded in the transport. Souta, who had been in the closest proximity with Miroku, had gone in the ambulance with him, while Kagome followed in a cab close behind. Mrs. Higurashi and Grandpa had decided to bring Sango to a hotel nearby the hospital while they waited to hear more. Until Inuyasha got there, Sango was Miroku's only other family contact available to make decisions about his care.
Things had moved fast once Miroku had reached the hospital. Through frantic cell phone calls with the Higurashis and a hysterically crying Sango, they were able to get diagnostics running on Miroku while the staff immediately treated the fever.
By early morning Saturday, the diagnosis had been available, and their friend had a very severe case of highly infectious influenza-related pneumonia.
At this part of the story, Inuyasha sighed heavily and dragged his hands over his face. While Kagome only looked knowingly at him, he felt she could see straight through him.
His initial reaction was indignance. "So where is the damned monk now?" he had finally burst out.
He so wanted to give the monk a slight throttling: how did even Miroku end up messing things up this badly? Most of all when the damned idiot had a loving wife who normally had killer aim with a ranged weapon - except for the fact that she was currently in the delicate condition of being more than six months pregnant with said-idiot's twins.
Despite Inuyasha's increasingly protective side coming out on Sango's behalf, maybe even a little to his own surprise, Kagome's expression had turned a little more exhausted.
Any of them may have liked to give their friend a good talking to, whether rational or not considering the circumstances. However, now none of them could go in and be with him at all.
Kagome continued her explanation.
Before Souta had left the hospital for a break to shower and find Inuyasha at home at the shrine on Saturday afternoon, the medics had let them know in the mid-morning that Miroku's condition was worsening. The doctors were watching carefully but feared too much infected fluid was building in his lungs.
More fretful calls later with Sango, who had barely slept herself a few hours in the hotel where they still stayed, they had approval for the medics to perform an emergency procedure that sounded awful to Inuyasha.
*** They were authorized to use a needle to remove the fluid from Miroku's chest, if the amount exceeded a certain level.
Inuyasha looked on expectantly for Kagome to continue. She had sighed deeply. Inevitably this had happened while Souta was away with Inuyasha. The procedure, a "thoracentesis", had been done.
However, the doctors had warned that the fluid could return, and then they would have to decide if Miroku would need yet another procedure - a "thoracostomy".
Inuyasha had long since sagged into a chair. "Oh hells, what's that?" he asked in a low, worried voice upon hearing yet another new terrible-sounding piece of medical jargon slip into their conversation.
Inuyasha thought that Kagome's world in the modern era could be wonderful, but the amount of knowledge that humans had amassed in this era was also sometimes horrifying seeming, as he was quickly learning.
Souta leaned anxiously forward in his chair beside Inuyasha while Kagome had continued: "They told me and Sango, who was on the phone, a specialist will be called in to assess whether he will need a tube installed in his chest so that they can perform more regular… uh… draining while they keep treating the infection." She finished with a grimace at conveying the unpleasant details. ***
Inuyasha had long since come to appreciate Kagome for all the amazing strengths he had learned she had. He found he had a new respect for her growing too, as she continued to bravely navigate Miroku's medical situation through the hours.
While hurry-up-and-wait had appeared to be their only course forward through the better part of Saturday night, by 3 am on what was then Sunday, a nurse came and woke them up. Kagome, Souta, and even Inuyasha had nodded off in their seats in the Shinjuku hospital emergency room waiting area.
While medication was helping stabilize Miroku's fever and pulmonary system while keeping him safely sedated for the past several hours, the viral infection was still proving hard to treat.
The fluid on his lungs was building again. The doctors recommended the more invasive thoracostomy procedure.
Kagome had already looked at Inuyasha. In her eyes, he felt he could read her thoughts; with him now here in the hospital, Kagome had explained that they would no longer need to call Sango for every decision.
As Miroku's next listed surviving family member in Japan, he could decide whether Miroku should have this procedure done.
Inuyasha felt sick to his stomach. He had faced all kinds of vicious and terrible foes in violent, bloody battles in the Feudal Era, at times barely preventing the deaths of those dear to him; still, he couldn't ignore how his stomach twisted sickly at the thought of this decision. The doctor had already described potential risks to the surgery. Respiratory complications and infection were possible, which while not common were still worrisome, especially to Inuyasha. Such issues alone would almost certainly be fatal where he came from…
Inuyasha had swallowed worriedly but reminded himself he had to be brave. "Look, I don't really understand all this stuff that good. But what happens if we don't do it, this new procedure? Couldn't you just, you know, do the other one again?" he asked, praying that what he said was clear enough sounding.
The doctor had smiled. He was nice enough and had explained, but the answer had been "no".
The thoracentesis would not be safe to perform on a repeated basis and was not likely to be effective enough based on what they were seeing.
So Inuyasha had made the best decision he had thought he could, and fortunately, Kagome and Souta also agreed.
Miroku would have the new procedure done.
With the situation looking so grim, and it being the second night in a row that Miroku needed intense medical decisions made before dawn, Kagome, Inuyasha, and Souta all decided that it would not be best to call Sango again for her further approval. The thought of what Miroku had to have done could only scare her further.
Grimly, the three sank back into the drab waiting room chairs under the harsh fluorescent light. The Shinjuku hospital's design was fairly old and not much had been done to make the waiting area very inviting.
Another hour slid by horribly slow, as they waited to hear when Miroku's procedure would be scheduled.
Then another nurse stopped by with bad news: a piece of the specialized equipment used to do the procedure, a scope (whatever that was, Inuyasha thought to himself in frustration), was not available at this hospital, and a new one could not be transported on site.
Kagome, Inuyasha, and Souta held their breath, as the nurse explained that the doctor had referred Miroku's case to the University Hospital in downtown Tokyo. A special medical transport could be prepared, as they recommended Miroku be transferred there.
All the needed equipment would be available there within a specialized respiratory treatment ward.
So it happened - by around sunrise on Sunday morning, Miroku was admitted to a second hospital facility.
Having ridden another solemn, mostly silent cab ride together behind Miroku's ambulance, Kagome, Inuyasha, and Souta had arrived and dragged themselves down the hallways of the complicated complex that was the University Hospital.
Fortunately, they had found the facilities far newer, so that the environment of the hospital had not seemed so bad. They settled in for another long wait, but eventually they were notified that Miroku had been admitted and seen right away.
The procedure had gone well, and his lungs were again out of danger.
Kagome was glad to finally have some good news to give Sango, but it still did not help reduce the drastic feel of the decision to transfer Miroku to another more advanced hospital overnight.
Sunday, had dragged by, with more tense hours of waiting for more positive updates about the treatment of Miroku's infection. Souta finally went home for a night of sleep in bed with school being the next day.
The respiratory specialist that was now treating Miroku, had told Kagome and Inuyasha by Sunday night that the decision to go through with the thoracostomy had been a good one. However, the doctor also warned that the medical staff were watching closely in hopes that their friend would make a distinct turn for the better overnight.
Otherwise, advanced measures could need to be explored to prevent further complications from the viral infection.
Kagome and Inuyasha had grimaced at that last thought. Leaning on each other through the night, they tried to take turns sleeping, but both wound up waking up at intervals worried about their friend.
Inuyasha had long gotten past the point of anger with the monk, as he just wished he would make it through this thing alive.
Finally, on Monday, the third morning since Miroku had been hospitalized, a nurse woke Kagome and Inuyasha with good news.
Miroku's fever had finally fully broken overnight, and his temperature was returning to normal on its own. Thankfully, the fluid on his lungs was also noticeably abating too. It looked like the viral infection was running its course so that the medical team could focus on his recovery from the pneumonia.
By the afternoon, the staff would look to move him out of intensive care if all proceeded well.
As soon as the nurse left, Inuyasha and Kagome went down to the hospital courtyard to call Sango, Mrs. Higurashi, and Grandpa, who had moved to a hotel closer to the University Hospital the day before. Judging by her voice, Sango sounded like she was going back into tears over the speaker phone, but upon hearing the news, her voice grew noticeably happier and relieved.
Kagome and Inuyasha promised to call their family again in the next few hours once they hopefully got a positive prognosis that Miroku could be cleared from intensive care as anticipated. With the call finished, the couple finally allowed themselves to leave the waiting area to take lunch in the hospital cafeteria.
The food was all simple and bland, but the check-out lane had instant ramen, which Inuyasha wolfed down as soon as the noodles had sat long enough to soften. He didn't even care that the broth was still a bit too hot for comfort. For the first time in days, he didn't feel sick to his stomach with worry of whether Miroku's condition could get any worse.
Even Kagome bought herself an ice cream sandwich. Inuyasha recognized it as the kind Kagome liked to get from the neighborhood corner shop - two rectangular, chocolate cookies with vanilla ice cream in between. Having finished his food first, he had leaned back from the table to appreciate the way that his wife enjoyed her treat in tiny nibbles, as she tapped at the keys on her flip phone to message Souta the latest updates as well.
So at last, after lunch, Kagome and Inuyasha had gone back to the waiting area, where Inuyasha had delivered their tea. Marginally relaxed, they would wait out the time until they heard from Miroku's medical team again.
After assessing his newly grown beard, Inuyasha vowed that he would go home to the shrine one way or another that night to shower, shave and change clothes at least. Realizing they would need to find a way to assure Kagome similar refreshment, Inuyasha couldn't help but watch his brave little wife again with some worry.
Like Inuyasha, she wore a plush tracksuit set that she normally only wore around the house or on lazy weekends, a baggy hooded sweatshirt and oversized sweatpants. Kagome's pants and hoodie were in a shade of bright pink though, while Inuyasha's were in a shade of navy. After so many hours of off and on wakefulness they had spent in waiting rooms already, he was thankful that Souta had coached him to wear the loungewear - even despite how stale the comfortable fabric had gotten days later.
Continuing his observation, Inuyasha found under Kagome's eyes, dark, tired blotches that stood out in the white light of the ubiquitous fluorescents overhead. Having spotted his own face in the mirror on a trip to the bathroom on his second full day awake, Inuyasha had inspected matching blotches under his own eyes with fascination. He had never had eye bags in all his long life, and the odd, weak and tired feeling around his eye sockets felt very strange to him. So he knew his own eyes looked and felt just as tired as Kagome's, but somehow, she was still laying out and organizing the piles of Miroku's already extensive medical paperwork.
Souta had shown Inuyasha his computer before and how it could print script on to paper in very small, perfectly uniform lines of text that a person could compose on a personal viewing glass device. Miroku's treatment explanations and medical bills had obviously been produced in this manner. With how tired Inuyasha's eyes felt, just looking at the lines of tiny, cramped text threatened to make his head hurt. Worse yet, some of the documents were printed on extra long sheets of paperwork.
Kagome marked a few pages with notes in pen.
Sheesh, how does she do it? Inuyasha thought in wonder, as his wife sorted through the documents. He truly couldn't understand how her eyes weren't killing her looking at all that after so many hours.
Finally, he cleared his throat a little more loudly than necessary. Kagome's head bobbed up, and she looked around. While he appreciated her cutely dazed expression, at last having her attention, he nodded toward her untouched cup of tea.
"Y'gonna drink it before it gets cold?" he asked, sounding more gruff than he intended.
Kagome sighed and picked up the cup before falling back into the stiff, maroon pleather of the sofa she sat on. She sniffed at the small opening in the lid sweetly before taking a sip. "Inuyasha, thank you," she said appreciatively.
In the quiet, they both took a few more sips of the fresh, grassy flavored tea.
Putting the cup down, Kagome smiled her husband's way, which still pulled a matching expression from his own tired mouth. "I'm glad you got me that. I really don't know what I would have done if you hadn't stayed here with me the last few days. I'm just sorry it had to be so crazy and stressful, and the hospital is really not a nice place to spend so much time, even in the modern era," she said finally, looking a bit self-conscious as she finished.
"What? Of course, I was gonna stay, Kagome," Inuyasha said, putting his own empty cup back on the table.
He leaned toward his wife with his dark brows crinkled with concern. Even with his hair and complexion mussed from not showering for days, Kagome's stomach still flipped slightly. She thought he looked handsome, as he continued, gazing right at her: "The monk may be a dope having gotten himself this sick in the first place, but I wasn't about to leave his side, or yours or Sango's for that matter. So don't go thanking me or anything, because I signed up for this."
Kagome smiled warmly for the first time in days. Her husband had changed so much over the years. The thought could melt her heart, but the sight of all the paperwork on the table kept her in the here and now.
"It's actually mind blowing how many different things Miroku's had done since he got admitted in Shinjuku," she sighed after they both looked back down at the table. "I'm glad to say I haven't really had a lot of experience with anything like this before. I'm not sure I would have had the endurance to keep convincing Sango what to do for everything, if you hadn't been here to help me make a lot of these decisions firsthand.
"It's a good thing too that Uncle Ken was already working on Miroku's immigration paperwork before all this happened. The billing department contact explained I just need to keep all these bills straight somehow until we can get Miroku registered to the universal insurance program and can submit it all to them. If it wasn't for that, I would have no idea how we'd paid for all this. It's still going to be pretty expensive," she groaned, shaking her head and thumbing through a few of the pages again.
Carefully, still a bit unsure of himself in situations like this, Inuyasha gently slipped his hand over his wife's fingers where they had been worrying over the paper.
He swallowed, as he looked into Kagome's eyes again. In the past he may not have been very positive, but now–
I signed up for this, a voice inside himself willed Inuyasha on.
"I know you can handle this Kagome. And we'll keep getting through this together - no matter what," he promised.
The young man had only a moment to cherish the familiar promise of hope that he had found shining in the eyes of his wife. A look from Kagome could kindle courage in his own heart like none other.
A moment later, the squelching pad of rubber-clogged footsteps echoed down the hall. Inuyasha had committed that sound to memory in the last few days: a nurse was coming to update them.
Parting hands and looking up expectantly, Inuyasha and Kagome thankfully found a smile on the young woman's kind face. She stepped up to them, holding a chart labeled "Hirai Miroku".
Together they breathed a sigh of relief, as she said, "Mr. and Mrs. Hirai, I am happy to say I have good news for you."
:::
Note 3: Poor Miroku, but thank goodness he has Kagome and Inuyasha on his side, and he is finally being taken care of!
Looking forward to checking back in with Sesshomaru and Rin next time! Hugs, Origamikungfu.