Chapter 6
Gradually, Shippo awoke to a wet, stroking sensation on his arm. A rough tongue licked him again. "Kirara! You're okay!" he exclaimed happily, but groggily. He petted her and she purred, rubbing fiercely against his hand.
"Shippo!" cried Miroku from the fox demon's right. "Look, he's awake!" Kagome joined Miroku at Shippo's feet. Sango sat on Shippo's left. The young demon blinked several times, clearing his vision to see their bruised faces circled above him. He sat up, shaking his head.
"Where are we?" he asked.
"Another cell of some kind," Miroku replied.
Shippo glanced around somewhat, and noticed a tiny window. Opposite the door, it was situated at the top of the wall, apparently level with the ground. They were in a dimly illuminated basement – the floor and three walls of stone. The fourth wall consisted of a solid metal cell door. He noted that his friends' arms weren't bound, though their wrists had fresh marks. "Hey! Weren't we tied up?" He rubbed his hair in sleepy confusion.
"Yeah," said Sango, "but Kirara used her claws to free us." She picked up the cat and cuddled her. Kirara stroked her head against Sango's chin and purred louder. She added, "How are you feeling? You were asleep a good, long time. It's morning now."
"I'm okay," Shippo said as he rubbed his nose. "That stuff sure smelled terrible, though. Hey, that reminds me! Where's Inuyasha? Is he okay? With his sensitive nose…."
"He's over there. He hasn't woken up yet." Kagome pointed worriedly over Sango's shoulder.
Shippo looked to his left. Inuyasha laid shivering on the floor under a different, moth-eaten coverlet. He was on his left side, back to the wall, in the corner near the window. Home-made, bloody bandages encased his left foot. His chain was coiled near him. Shippo asked again, "Is he okay?"
"We're not sure," Kagome answered. She bit her lower lip and wrung her hands. "We weren't so worried when you were still sleeping, but now…. I don't know. After all," she reassured herself, "it's only natural he'd sleep longer, right? Being sick and injured and breathing that horrible smoke…. Even I thought those fumes smelled bad." She trailed off.
Miroku reassured, "He'll be fine, Kagome. He's strong."
"Yeah!" Shippo agreed.
Kirara meowed and jumped down from Sango's arms. She pushed her head against their legs repeatedly. "What are you doing, Kirara?" She meowed again, bounced into their laps, and then ran to the corner of the cell near the door. She kept doing this until they figured out that she wanted them to move. They did, crowding into the corner, wondering what she could be thinking. Quickly, she ran to the center of the moderately large cell and transformed into a sleek predator. She pushed Inuyasha away from the wall with her nose. He trembled harder and made a pained, disgusted sound as his foot was jarred. She curled herself around his body, offering him her warmth. His quivering slowed; his face smoothed, and he sighed gently.
Understanding lit the others' faces, and they spread out, though there wasn't much room now. Kagome reached out, and tucked the worn blanket more firmly around Inuyasha. Then she petted Kirara's head with gratitude, who purred. "Good," Kagome breathed, both to Kirara and in relief that Inuyasha was more comfortable.
Sango nodded, and then mused, "I wonder what time it is. I'm starving!"
"You're not the only one!" Miroku said.
"Me, too!" cried Shippo. "The last time I ate was lunch! Yesterday!"
"Hey, Shippo," Kagome asked, cocking her head "where were you all day yesterday? I thought you followed us through the night."
"Well, yeah, we did. But we couldn't fly in during the day. Duh! We'd be spotted! Even I know that."
"Right, that was smart," she replied, chagrined. "Well, now what do we do?" She threw her hands up. "So much for our escape. Although, I am surprised they put us all in the same cell."
Miroku sighed. "Yes…. We haven't accomplished much. Inuyasha's still collared and our weapons, particularly the Tetsusaiga, are still hidden somewhere. Shippo did find the way out, though." He gestured in acknowledgement. Shippo grinned proudly.
Suddenly, Inuyasha's voice asked hoarsely, "Already planning again, huh? Good. You guys don't miss a beat."
"Inuyasha!" they cried happily.
He grunted and yawned widely, wincing when his bruises ached. "You're warm, Kirara," he murmured. She licked his head and ears, mussing his hair. He flattened his ears tight to his head. "Hey!" She licked him again, undeterred. He sighed and relaxed them forward. Shippo pounced on him, hugging him tightly. "Inuyasha!"
"Shippo!" he scolded, but he looked away uncomfortably and tolerated the young fox demon's affection.
Kagome cried, "Don't you ever scare me like that again!" She swiftly pulled him upright with a rattle of chain links and buried her head against his chest. Inuyasha grunted softly as his foot throbbed. Kagome began to weep. He blushed a brilliant red, patted her back awkwardly, and said, "Don't cry, Kagome. I'm okay. R-r-really." Just as he finished saying this, though, the cold snatched his body and shook it, sending yet more painful sparks through his wound. Immediately, Kagome stopped sobbing, and pulled back to look at him, still holding crimson fistfuls of his clothes. He tried to speak, but his teeth began chattering, and he couldn't finish. She gently laid him back down next to Kirara and covered him with the blanket. Kirara wormed her huge paw under his head for a pillow. Shippo jumped up again, snuggling down on Inuyasha's hip and leaning upon Kirara's side for a back rest.
"Inuyasha?" Miroku asked.
"DON'T ask me," Inuyasha interjected, his tolerance at an end, "if I'm okay. The answer is yes, I'M FINE."
Miroku lifted his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, jeez."
Breakfast was shortly served and promptly devoured. Kagome told them to save most of their water for Inuyasha, though. "His wound needs cleaning. And with his fever, he could easily get dehydrated."
Inuyasha's protest was cut off by the clank of soldiers' boots, gradually getting louder and louder, finally stopping before their cell door. A key grated, and the massive door squeaked slowly open, revealing a heavily armed squadron of men.
"Come on, you're coming with us. You will serve your new lord. Move it!"
The prisoners all stared, still as stone.
The man gestured, and soldiers flooded into the cell, grabbing slaves. They protested vehemently and struggled, but were manhandled out one by one. Inuyasha yelled, "No!" stretching a hand out, and struggling into a sitting position. Shippo hung onto Kagome with fright, but someone punched him off her shoulder. He cried out and hit the ground, dazed. Soon, only the three non-humans were left within. "Leave the two useless demons, but grab him!" They knew Inuyasha wouldn't resist much; their lord had told them so. They circled inward toward it. The battle-hardened warriors hesitated, though, when Kirara slowly lifted her head and snarled from deep in her throat. Her claws flexed, marking the floor.
One nervous man asked, "Are you sure about this?"
"Go on! Do as you're told!"
Finally, a single brave soul approached, flashed his arm out like lightning and snatched a startled Inuyasha away from Kirara, sending him sliding through the legs of the ring of men. The man dove behind them, as well, to let them deal with the cat. Then he gathered handfuls of fabric at Inuyasha's neck, lifting him. The chain trailed behind clinking; the blanket pooled on the floor. Inuyasha hung like a rag doll, forcing the man to hold all his weight, which he did, seemingly effortlessly. The soldier was taken aback, though, when he saw the sweat drenching the half-demon and felt the heat emanating outward in waves.
"Sir?" he asked over the noise of Kirara's battle. "I don't think it's well. Just look at it." An occasional shiver swept over Inuyasha, and pain grimaced over his face.
His superior looked disgusted. Even he couldn't deny that the half-wit was ill. "Just drop it, then. It's worthless to us that way."
"Yes, sir." He was still looking away when his hands suddenly began trembling violently. He turned back: Inuyasha was shivering convulsively. Inuyasha slowly raised his head and made eye contact with the soldier. The soldier met his gaze and held it neutrally as he released him. Inuyasha thudded on the stone floor, legs crumpling, and cried out. His foot injury began to bleed afresh.
Then the remaining samurai, some bleeding and unconscious – or worse, departed, slamming the door shut with a harsh, metal clang. Kirara, still large, padded over to Inuyasha's side, where Shippo already sat.
Shippo asked anxiously over Inuyasha's pain-racked form, "What are we going to do, Kirara?"
The day slowly crept by for Shippo. He dully kept the time by watching the sun change position through the small window. He grew to know every last crevice in the walls and ceiling. He even counted over and over the number of dents in the metal door. There were 14.
Inuyasha slept fitfully much of the day, tossing and turning, occasionally half-awakening when the pain from his foot engulfed him, reminding him not to wiggle. Kirara became so frustrated with him after a few hours that she gave up on lying next to him. So she turned back into a kitten, and entertained Shippo awhile with her playful antics.
Unfortunately, such amusement was fleeting. Shippo was tortured with worry about his friends, both the ones hours-missing and the flushed one across from him. Besides which, there was absolutely, positively, crushingly nothing to do! He could either sleep or stare blankly into space, it seemed.
Eventually, though, the sun neared the western horizon. Shippo cheered it on in the hopes that Kagome, Sango, and Miroku would soon return. Not that he wanted them to be locked up, too, but he wanted to see them.
Without any warning whatsoever, the opening door broke the forever silence. Three dark forms stumbled inside and the door swung shut again. They straightened, then gratefully and stiffly sat against the walls.
"Kagome! Miroku! Sango! You're back!" Shippo cried. He rushed around, hardly knowing whom to speak to first. It was shocking to have a change, too, after such mind-numbing constancy for so long. Kirara meowed, and nuzzled Sango, then hopped into her lap and promptly curled up, purring.
Miroku laughed, "Shippo! You're so silly…. It's quite refreshing after this terrible day." He let his voice trail off.
"What happened? Where did you guys go? Are you okay? Did they force you to do stuff?" Shippo maintained a fast, inexorable stream of demanding questions.
"Shippo, Shippo! Calm down so we can tell you." Kagome smiled reluctantly, but her face sobered as she contemplated the story. Shortly, Shippo did relax, and sat down to listen intently. Kagome checked on Inuyasha, first, though; she'd be unable to tell the tale if she didn't.
In essence, they'd learned that this cell was in the depths of Lord Atsuo's own house within the compound of the castle. All day, they'd worked and cleaned for "their new lord," as the soldiers were fond of repeating. Apparently, this setup was designed so that Atsuo could "keep an eye on them." No, they hadn't actually seen him. Later, when they were "loyal," they'd have tasks "more suited to their individual skills." The day had not been pleasant, to say the least.
"I have bruises everywhere, thanks to those brutes! Sometimes, I can't believe the way people in this era behave," Kagome complained.
"Yeah, it certainly wasn't a picnic for us, either," said Sango. "And I saw you, Miroku. You were groping those poor girls, asking them to bear your child." She huffed. "How typical, monk."
"It's the hand!" Miroku protested, lifting his right, the one with the Wind Tunnel. "The curse runs deep!"
Sango just huffed again in disbelief and gave him a vicious glare. He cowered and began to sweat profusely. "Uh, Sango…?"
"WHAT!"
"Never mind," Miroku said in a small voice.
"Hey!" Inuyasha objected groggily. "Trying to sleep here."
Sango turned, struggling not to glare at him, too. Inuyasha blinked, and glanced at the cowed Miroku. He must've been womanizing again. Inuyasha still didn't understand what the big deal was, though. Or why it was Sango who always got upset. Eh, whatever.
"Oh! You guys are back," Inuyasha said. He yawned, and then used chinks in the wall to pull himself upright, even while keeping his foot steady – a difficult, but worthy, task.
"You only just noticed? Thanks a lot, Inuyasha," Kagome grumbled, even as she tried to help him.
He waved her off and said, "Hey! I was still half-asleep. Cut me some slack." He pulled strings of damp, gray hair off his face. "Man, I'm thirsty. We got any water?"
"So now you want water! Earlier you didn't want me to save any!" Kagome thought that he must be feeling better to sit up and ask for water. Especially since he sounded like his old, pugnacious self. She affectionately pulled his blanket higher for him.
"Uh, Kagome?" Shippo ventured, startled by her fluctuating mood.
"Yes?"
"All the water got spilled when you left."
She sighed. "And I don't suppose they gave you lunch?"
"No."
"Yeah, we didn't get any either. Dinner should be soon, though. Okay, Inuyasha?"
He smiled weakly, as disturbed as Shippo. "Yeah, okay."
Kagome was indeed correct: a meager delivery of food and water was soon forthcoming. Their chamber pot was removed, emptied, and returned as well.
"How kind of them," remarked Miroku, eyebrow raised.
After their meal – Inuyasha did drink a lot of water – Kagome used the scanty remainder for his foot. She overcame his objections by saying that he was too weak not to take precautions. She then gently unwrapped the bandage, revealing the puncture wound. She washed it, surprised at how fast he could heal, even when racked with fever: it had already closed over again. (She'd heard from Shippo that it'd reopened.) If he was human, it would probably never have closed yet at all, much less twice. She then rewrapped it with a fresh cloth torn once more from Miroku's voluminous robes.
Sango also tried to pick the lock on his chain with the earring again, but to no avail. "Ugh! This stud is so tiny!" She threw Miroku's earring at him in frustration. He protested and they argued briefly.
Afterward, the group chatted more amiably and tried to make new plans until no light remained. Then one by one, they all fell asleep, including Inuyasha. Inuyasha thought just before he drifted off that it was really annoying he was so tired. What a weakling… this chain made him…. He was very glad… he wasn't…a full human….
The next day passed by very similarly to its predecessor. However, by the time that Miroku, Kagome and Sango plodded back from their forced drudgery and abuse, Inuyasha had degenerated dangerously.
"Holy cow! His skin is scorching!" Sango exclaimed when they arrived back at the cell.
"I know!" Shippo cried, tears on the brink of falling. "He just keeps getting worse! I didn't know what to do!"
Inuyasha was very deeply asleep, or perhaps unconscious, on his back in the corner. His face was flushed and covered with sweat. His clothes had absorbed the sweat and become damp. Yet more troubling, his hair was no longer a solid gray hue, but layered with tones, tints, and shades.
Miroku and Kagome hurriedly knelt next to him. Kagome felt his forehead as Sango had. She gasped. "He is scorching! We need to bring his fever down! But how?" she asked franticly.
"Well, we can at least take his blanket and suikan off," Miroku suggested. Swiftly, they removed the cover and shirt and laid him back down. "Touching this cold stone floor with his bare skin will help," he reassured her.
Kagome was nevertheless waxing hysterical. "It's not like we have ice or even water! There's nothing cold around here! What can we use, what can we use?" Shippo was beginning to go to pieces with her, as was Kirara.
Sango gripped her shoulders. "Calm down, Kagome. You can't help Inuyasha if you panic." She added in an undertone, "And Shippo and Kirara take their cues from us, so be careful."
Kagome nodded rapidly, forced herself to be calmer, and returned to Inuyasha's side. "Does anyone have any ideas?
There was a pause. Miroku mused, "It's too bad Shippo uses fox fire, and not fox ice. Hey, could you transform into ice?"
Shippo was taken aback. "Well, maybe," he at last replied. "It wouldn't last long, but it might work." He took out his special leaf, placed it on his forehead, and cried, "Transform!" A wooden blue cube stood where he'd been.
"No, Shippo! That's not ice. Try it again!" Kagome exclaimed. "Try harder!"
He transformed back to himself. He took a shaky breath. "Okay. Transform!"
"Aw, Shippo, that's metal! Again!"
Shippo was getting flustered. "I am trying! This isn't easy, you know! Transform!"
Plastic this time, like he'd seen among Kagome's things.
"Come on, Shippo, I know you can do it!" Sango interrupted Kagome's despairing cry. "Just one more time."
"Okay. All right. I can do this. Transform!"
At last, he was a block of ice.
"Great job, Shippo!" Miroku said.
Kagome shouted, "Yes!" She snatched him up and set him on Inuyasha's stomach. "Whoa!" Shippo said, startled, his mouth opening across the ice block. Eyes and a nose popped onto the surface, too.
"Sorry. But we don't have any time to waste," said Kagome as she swept over the half-demon with Shippo's transformed ice body.
"That tickles!" Shippo said and laughed. He tried to stay in form, but couldn't. It just tickled so much! He popped back to his normal state, sitting on Inuyasha's stomach. He hopped off.
Inuyasha began to shiver, anyway, the tremors growing violent. He awoke, but couldn't speak through his chattering teeth. He seemed surprised to be bare-chested and surrounded by his friends. He reached out feebly for his clothes and blanket.
"Inuyasha! No, we're trying to bring your fever down. It's way too high!" said Kagome.
"C-c-c-c-cold," Inuyasha managed to get out angrily.
"Are you sure, Kagome?" Miroku said. "Is this really a good idea?"
Her face twisted. "I don't know! Maybe! It's not like I've read about it recently!"
Inuyasha's lips were turning blue. "C-c-c-cold!" He reached out again. His muscles were starting to cramp from the shivering, and his foot pounded! A brutal cramp knotted the bicep of his right arm, and he clamped a hand on it, clenching his teeth.
"Come on, Kagome, I think we overdid it!" said Sango. She seized his clothes and pushed him upright, walking her hands up his back. He leaned against her chest. "Help me!" she exclaimed. Together, they succeeded in getting his quaking arms through the sleeves and then retying the front across him. They set him back on the floor. Watching anxiously, they waited.
He continued to shiver, though gentler now, and curled up on his side. Kagome gently brushed his multicolored bangs away from his brow, and felt his temperature. It was a little lower, thank goodness, but she didn't know how long it would stay that way.
"Inuyasha, how do you feel?" Miroku asked.
"C-c-cold. Duh." He frowned. "What d-d-do you m-mean, you overd-d-d-did it?"
"Well, Shippo transformed into an ice cube, and we tried to lower your fever. But, uh, I think we went too far. Maybe you're not supposed to use ice?"
"J-jeez. Thanks," Inuyasha said sarcastically.
Sango smacked his shoulder lightly. "Hey! We're trying to help!"
"Will you be okay now, Inuyasha?" asked Shippo tentatively, eyes huge and liquid. He stood sadly between Kagome and Sango.
He looked over. He'd most likely scared the bejesus out of the poor kid. "Y-y-yeah."
"Inuyasha…," Kagome warned. "Don't lie. We know how much you bluff, so don't even try it."
"What? I'm n-n-not!"
"Yeah, right," she muttered. Sango's and Miroku's faces agreed. "And don't you ever scare me like that again!"
"Like I t-tried," he said under his breath. He was finally relaxing, though his foot ached like nobody's business. Reflexively, he moved to wrap his hand around it, but stopped mid-motion. It didn't hurt enough for them to see him do that.
"Does your foot hurt?" asked Kagome instantly. "Here, let me see." Without waiting for a reply, she moved to his feet and took off the cloth. She jerked. "Whoa!"
"What?" Inuyasha asked, alarmed.
"It's red and swollen," she admitted. "Feels hot, too. I think it's infected!"
Inuyasha let his head thump onto the ground. "Great."
"That must be why your fever's so bad!" cried Shippo.
"We need to get that leash off ASAP," said Miroku. "You'd never have gotten an infection without it."
"That's the truth. And just look at your hair! It's a million different colors!" Sango exclaimed. "You're getting worse."
Miroku said, "Even as beautiful as the women are around here, we need to escape."
"Yeah, okay…." Inuyasha waved a hand dismissively. His eyelids were drooping. He wouldn't think so, but shivering was actually exhausting. He yawned, and then huffed. He had a fever, and an infection, and a stupid metal chain around his neck that sapped his demon power. That many disasters at once was ridiculous.
"Don't you want to eat anything, Inuyasha?" Sango asked. "They're probably bringing food soon."
"Not hungry." He yawned for a second time, flashing small fangs. "You guys go ahead."
Kagome tried to feel his forehead again, but he deflected her hand and glared sleepily at her. She sighed, and let it go. Sometimes it just wasn't worth the effort.
Yellow morning light suffused the cool, dim cell. Three of their number had awakened gently from its touch; Shippo, Kagome, and Inuyasha were still slumbering. Miroku and Sango spoke softly together:
"Say, Miroku, what will you do when the curse of your Wind Tunnel is broken? After we kill Naraku and everything?" Kirara purred in Sango's lap.
Solemnly, he took up her hand and replied, "How can you be so certain that we will defeat him in time?"
She tightened her hand around his. "We have to defeat him! I won't let you be sucked in by your own Wind Tunnel! I have no other choice but to be certain."
Miroku smiled at her. Then he answered her original question. "I'm not really sure what I'd do if it disappears. I've had it for as long as I can remember."
"Yes…. Naraku first placed the blight on your grandfather."
"That's right. And it traveled over the generations to me." Miroku discreetly slid one arm around Sango's shoulders, maintaining his hold on her hand with his other. She looked at him suspiciously, but he pretended not to notice.
"Well," she finally said, "will you still slay demons with us?" And with me? she thought.
"It's kind of difficult to say at this point. Inuyasha might want to do his own thing – you know how he is."
"Yeah…."
"We may split up. After all, Kagome can't keep traveling between her era and ours, can she?"
"I suppose." But don't you want to stay with me?
"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." He inched his hand ever lower on her back.
"Hmm."
"What's wrong, Sango?"
"What? Oh, nothing. Hey! Get your hand off me! You pervert!" She slapped him, leaving a vibrant red handprint. "I knew you were up to something!"
He exhaled audibly and raised a hand to his cheek. "Every time. The same spot."
Shippo and Kagome stirred at the commotion. Shippo groaned, "Aw, come on. You're at it again, aren't you, Miroku?" What an idiot.
Kagome blinked rapidly and yawned. "Morning already, huh?" She stretched. "Come on, Inuyasha, wake up. It's morning." She crawled to him. She saw that he was a little pale and his still-multicolored hair was a bit disheveled, but he seemed okay. Thank goodness, she thought. She really didn't want a repeat of last night. She shook him.
He didn't respond. Normally, he'd wake at the slightest sound, constantly on alert. Poor Inuyasha, so sick, and so completely unused to it! Half-demons rarely, if ever, fall ill.
"Come on, Inuyasha. Enough is enough. You have the whole day to sleep after we leave." She smacked her hand on his chest.
Nothing.
"Inuyasha! Come on, wake up!" She grabbed his upper arms and shook his entire body up and down.
No change.
She whirled to her friends, her eyes wide and glistening. Terror plastered her face. "He's not waking up!" She twisted back and pressed her ear to his chest. She sighed with relief. "He's still breathing."
"Good," Sango breathed shakily. They all gathered around Inuyasha.
Shippo leapt onto Inuyasha. "Come on, Inuyasha, wake up! INUYASHA!" Shippo yelled into his dog ear. "Say 'sit', Kagome! I bet he'll wake up then! That'll work if nothing else does!"
Sango and Miroku began to object, but Kagome nodded, sudden hope lighting her eyes, and quickly cried, "Sit, boy!" Inuyasha's long-worn, enchanted necklace lit up and slammed him into the ground. Shippo jumped with surprise.
A heavy grunt escaped Inuyasha's lungs, and he flinched, but there was no other response.
Kagome burst into tears. "He didn't wake up! How – what – what can we…?" she blubbered.
Shippo started to cry, too. Kirara meowed and bound onto Inuyasha next to the fox demon; she sinuously tried to offer Shippo comfort, rubbing against him and gazing at him sadly. He picked her up and held her tightly, letting the tears drip off his chin.
Miroku said shakily, "Come on, you guys, he's alive. There's got to be something we can do." He felt Inuyasha's sweaty cheek with the backs of his fingers. The heat nearly seared his flesh. He swore. "He's boiling!"
Sango cried, "Shippo! Transform! And quickly!"
"Right!" Shippo perked up and dived a hand into his shirt for his leaf. "Transform!" Kirara meowed loudly, back arching. She leapt off. Sango picked up Shippo's ice-cube body and rapidly swept him over Inuyasha. At the first touch, though, Inuyasha jerked involuntarily and rapidly began shivering, still unconscious.
"Stop, Sango!" Miroku cried.
"I already did!" she replied indignantly.
Shippo popped to normal again. "Will he be better now?"
No one answered. Kagome laid over Inuyasha and hugged him tightly. "Inuyasha, please don't die!" she sobbed.
Suddenly, she sprang up and ran to the door. She pounded her fists on it, yelling, crying and screaming for several minutes. The others sat startled. Miroku, after a moment, rechecked Inuyasha's temperature; it seemed the same as before, but he continued to shiver violently.
Finally, the cell door swung open, slamming into Kagome and abruptly ceasing her screams. She stumbled Shippo snapped his head up and ran to the soldier thus revealed. "PLEASE!" he immediately sobbed. "Inuyasha needs help! He's burning up!"
The man just stood there, annoyed.
Kagome pitched in, "Please! He'll die!" She kneeled beside the half-demon, snatched his quivering hand and held it desperately to her chest.
"Well, what do you expect me to do?"
"He needs a doctor!" she exclaimed, her voice congested with tears.
"You think I'm going to get a slave, a non-human, a doctor?" he asked incredulously.
Shippo clasped the soldier's leg tightly, wetting his pants with his tears. "You have to help him!"
The man looked down, completely flabbergasted to have a young demon clutching his leg. He kicked vigorously, trying to throw Shippo off, but he clung like a leech.
"PLEASE!" Shippo yelled. "HELP HIM!"
He set his leg back down and looked at Inuyasha for the first time. It was true that the mutt didn't look very good. Actually, it strangely seemed to be lying in a bit of a crater. He sighed; there seemed to be no other recourse. That crazy girl would probably start screaming again if he didn't give in, and it was already giving him a headache. "Fine, I'll talk to my captain. But he won't do anything."
"Thank you! Thank you!" Shippo and Kagome chorused.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He left, relocking the door.
They waited and watched in fretful suspense for what seemed like hours before the two samurai returned. The captain demanded, "So what's this about a sick dog?"
"It's Inuyasha," Miroku struggled to explain calmly. "His fever is really high and he's unconscious. He might die!"
"Yeah?" he said disinterestedly. "So what?" He muttered to his subordinate, "You bothered me for this?"
Sango had an epiphany. "I bet your lord would be really angry with you if you let his very expensive new slave die."
At that, the man's face grew troubled. He considered it and eventually admitted to himself that she was probably right. The penalty for that would be much more severe than getting it to one of their doctors. "Fine. We'll take it to the infirmary."
They all nearly collapsed with relief.
"What are you waiting for?" the captain yelled. They jumped. "Pick it up! NOW!"
They jumped and complied. When they picked him up, they found Inuyasha's shivering to be vaguely problematic. Sango nevertheless piled the chain on Inuyasha's chest to get it out of the way. She and Kagome grasped his shoulders, while Miroku took his legs. Suddenly, the monk froze and sniffed. He whispered to the others, "I can smell his infection." Their entire bodies tightened in distress. When they lifted him, Inuyasha's whole body jerked and he moaned reflexively, grimacing with pain. Miroku saw the claws on his right foot recede into human toenails, and raised his gaze to Sango's and Kagome's frightened faces. They stood there holding him, unsure of what to do. They needed to carry him, didn't they?
The captain turned to leave, though, making their decision for them, which hadn't really been one in the first place, anyway. Shippo discreetly jumped up and squirmed within Miroku's ample robes, startling him. Kirara followed suit and hid among the folds. Luckily, neither the guard nor the captain noticed that they were locking nothing but air within the cell.
The soldier and captain walked off unhurriedly, but the troupe didn't dare say anything lest they change their minds about Inuyasha. Still, they anxiously wished to go faster. The captain led them through a veritable maze of hallways, alleys, and gardens before finally reaching the hospice. Gratefully, they set Inuyasha on a pallet in the large single room of the building. Few other beds were occupied. They massaged their aching arms, and knelt around him. Miroku was careful not to reveal Shippo or Kirara hiding within his robes. The single soldier remained angrily on guard as the captain left in search of a doctor.
