The doctor sat back, avoiding the eyes of the samurai and the girl. He hated to be the bearer of bad tidings, and yet….

He was impressed with the girl's house. It was in need of repair, but meticulously clean and the flower arrangement on the little table in the corner showed both taste and skill. The futon his patient lay on was old, but well aired. His patient…. "I'm afraid I can't give you any hope." The samurai watched him impassively, but the girl blanched and he automatically reached for her hand and patted it comfortingly.

"What's wrong with him?" she whispered.

"He has paroxysmal fever. It comes from sleeping outside."

Fuu shook her head in confusion. "He's used to sleeping outside. We all are. Jin and me aren't sick."

The doctor sighed. "Nobody knows what causes it, or why some are affected and others are not. I only know that before I came to Goto, I saw it from time to time and it always came after people had been sleeping outside."

"You said before you came to Goto." Jin's voice was eerily calm. "You haven't seen it here?"

"No. How long has he been in the city?"

"We arrived over a week ago."

The doctor shook his head helplessly. "I really can't explain it. All I know is that this is paroxysmal fever."

Fuu said strongly, "Never mind what it's called or where it comes from. How is it cured?"

The doctor's hand tightened on hers. "I'm afraid there is no cure. This is a sickness that kills."

Now Jin's face lost what color it had. "There must be something."

"I've never seen anyone recover from it. First the chills, then fever-very bad fever. Then he will seem to get better for a few days, three or four, then the chills and fever will return. They usually die from the second attack, but even if they survive, a third attack will come and there's just so much the body can endure. I'm very sorry. Is he dear to you?"

Fuu and Jin stared at each other, bewildered by the sudden blow, then the samurai said flatly, "He is someone who has become necessary to us."

Fuu leaned over Mugen. He was unconscious, curled in a ball and shaking with cold, and she tucked the blankets more closely around him. "Haven't you even heard of anyone who got better?"

The doctor frowned thoughtfully. "My brother is also a doctor-he lives in Nagasaki and he wrote to me once about something the foreigners use for paroxysmal fever. They call it malaria. I didn't really think anything of it-who can believe anything foreigners say? Still, that is the only time I ever heard of anything that might help."

Chimmoko had come in at the tail end of the conversation and now she came forward and put an arm around Fuu, saying softly, "Maybe your samurai should go to Nagasaki."

Jin stared at his rough friend. "Even if I could get there and back in time, I have no money to pay for medicine."

"Neither do I." Fuu smoothed Mugen's blankets, her eyes desolate.

"Come back to the restaurant with me and I'll give you enough to take a boat to Nagasaki and buy the medicine when you get there." Jin and Fuu tore their eyes off Mugen and fixed them on Chimmoko. She gazed back calmly. "It doesn't sound like you have any time to waste."

Fuu shook her head. "Chimmoko, why would you do that for us? It's going to be a lot of money and it'll take me a really long time to pay it back."

"I don't want you to pay it back." Chimmoko sighed. "Fuu, I'm all alone in the world, but I had a husband once, and a daughter who would be just your age if she had lived….you even look a little like her…."

Suddenly a lot of things were clear to Fuu-why Chimmoko had always been so kind and helpful, and how important it was to allow her to help in this time of desperate need. The girl smiled at her boss, now another friend, and said, "Jin, go with her. And get back as soon as you can."

The doctor had been writing while the others talked and now he handed the samurai a piece of paper. "Here's my brother's name and address. If there really is some kind of medicine that can help your friend, he'll know where to get it."

Jin took the paper and tucked it away in his kimono, then knelt by Mugen, laying a gentle hand on the wild hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, then got to his feet and strode to the door. "Take care of him, Fuu."