The sun was coming up as Jin walked into the little house, blinking tiredly at his two friends. Fuu was stretched on the floor next to Mugen, sound asleep, and the Ryukyuan….
Jin bent over him. Mugen was shaking as if he were naked in a snowstorm. His eyes opened and he looked up at his friend without recognition, then fell back into the blizzard that was consuming him. The samurai took a moment to compose himself, then shook Fuu awake.
She sat up, turning automatically to Mugen as if to reassure herself he was still there, then threw her arms around Jin. "You're back!"
"I would think that was obvious," he said dryly. He held up a heavy parcel. "I have the medicine."
Fuu grabbed the package and tore it open, looking up in surprise. "This looks like tree bark."
"It is." Jin sat down wearily. "It's called cinchona and it comes all the way from Peru-that's the only place in the world where it grows."
She shook her head. "What do we do with it?"
"It has to be boiled in water-let it simmer for an hour, then give Mugen a cup every hour until the symptoms go away. After that he drinks a cup three times a day for a week." Jin got to his feet and took the package. "I'll take care of that. You stay with him."
An hour later Jin brought the first cup to Fuu. Mugen was conscious but too weak to drink from the cup and Fuu spooned a little of the liquid into him. He retched and brought it right back up and she looked helplessly at Jin. "Does it taste that bad?"
The samurai frowned and took the cup, trying a cautious sip, then gagged. "I'm afraid it does." They read the same thought in each other's eyes-if Mugen couldn't keep the medicine down, it might as well not be there.
Fuu's jaw set and she pulled the Ryukyuan into her arms, whispering, "Mugen, listen to me. This is the only thing that can save you-you've got to drink it and you've got to hold it. Do you understand?"
He looked up at her, struggling to focus on her face, his lips moving soundlessly. Then he nodded once and Fuu reached for the cup and the spoon. Jin handed them to her and she gave Mugen another dose. He clutched at her, his whole body shuddering with the effort to keep down the bitter liquid tearing at his insides, then opened his mouth again. Her tears fell freely as she gave him the rest of the cup, then she dropped it and held him tightly, begging him to hold on while Jin averted his eyes from the emotion in her face.
They lost track of time as Jin kept the cups coming and Fuu fed them to Mugen, each one as hard as the first. The sun went down and Jin lit a couple of candles as the room grew dark. The hours passed like a bad dream until just before dawn, when Fuu became aware of a change in Mugen.
His body grew very still and his skin began to cool off. Too moved for tears, she laid him back on the futon and gently straightened the blankets. Jin approached with another cup as she bent over the Ryukyuan, kissing him softly on the forehead and whispering, "I'll always love you, Mugen."
The samurai felt his strength go and he sat down abruptly next to Fuu, his whole body bowed under the weight of his sorrow. He reached out a trembling hand to Mugen, patting his shoulder, and the Ryukyuan stirred and mumbled something. Jin was so startled he almost dropped the cup and he had to try twice to form words before any sound came out. "He's still alive?"
Fuu took Jin's hand, her smile glorious in the growing light of the dawn. "The chills are gone and he has no fever. I think he's going to make it!"