A/N: Sorry this is short, but it is the fault of the weekend. You weren't the only people I had to neglect this Thanksgiving.
Through the accident and the resulting injuries to both himself and his friends, Miroku never felt his heart explode into the erratic thumps he had become familiar with. But, when he caught glimpse of the evidence of his friend's youkai blood surfacing in such a small contained space of twisted metal, he felt himself interrupt his meditation as his heart blew up full force.
Pressing his head to the back of Inuyasha's headrest, the monk tried to hold down his panic. There were only two things in this world that could send him into such a state, and one was the lack of knowledge about his own body. It was terrifying to feel you could die at any moment. He forced himself to take very deep breaths and slow his lungs to slow his speeding blood. He hoped that would help.
Kagome's hand was on his shoulder from across the car. He faintly realized how unconcerned the two of them were for the woman between them with a bleeding head. He felt his chest calming with the guilt as it slinked its way into his core. The guilt cooled his panic better than a freezing stream.
"Miroku?" He felt her shake his shoulder and he nodded, still a bit winded. "Are you getting a grip?" He nodded again then managed to pull his face out of the seat in front of him.
He could still fell Inuyasha shaking a bit in front of him, but he felt his friend must have himself under control better than he thought. He hadn't gone off yet.
Kagome's door creaked as the cab driver opened it. "Hey, we've got an ambulance on the way. Should be here very soon. Can I help anyone out?"
Kagome pointed toward Miroku. "He could stand to get out of his seat. Inuyasha's holding his off his lap right now." The cabbie raised his eyebrows and stumbled as he rushed around the back to Miroku's door. With a heavy grind, the man managed to get the passenger's side back door open. Miroku took the offered hand and scooted out from under the small space between his seat and his friend's. He stretched—careful of his neck—and stepped away from the monster car he had been trapped in for only a few minutes.
As the cab driver bent to open Inuyasha's door, getting dangerously close to the hanyou's clawed fingers still latched onto the vehicle, Miroku grabbed his arm. "He's not ready to step out." He tried to sound like there was no creeping unease in his voice. "Let's give him a moment, yes?"
The man nodded and headed back to Kagome who had gotten herself out of the cab. Sue remained inside with Inuyasha. Miroku peered into the window beside him. His friend still help himself up rigidly, but even with the setting dark, he could see the marks and the red of his eyes fading away. He'd managed to stay in control. Miroku felt abnormally proud for him.
He knelt beside the car and touched his friend's hand. "Inuyasha? How are you doing there?"
The growl burbled out just as smoothly as the voice letting Miroku know that Inuyasha was still in fact struggling with his youkai. "Yeah…just need a few more minutes, kay?"
He felt himself nod and stand to step back. He looked across the car toward Kagome. On the way he noticed the gray car that hit them had completely crashed into the front passenger's corner. It was lucky Inuyasha had been there, because even though Miroku was not very familiar with the workings of vehicle physics, he was sure a human would not have lived through such an impact.
Turning back to his friend, he watched her from the short distance away. She had her head lowered and was discussing something with the cabbie. She looked a bit pale and was wringing her hands together as if they were in a fight. He felt his feet move him to her side without much effort and put his arm around her. She leaned against him—something she did not normally do. He couldn't help but ask.
"Lady Kagome, are you alright?"
She turned her face up to his and the look in her eyes was dark. "Sue—she's…" she faltered as her eyes pulled down.
Miroku positioned himself directly in front of her and held her hands with his. Her knuckles were still white. "Kagome, what about Sue?"
She loosened her hands long enough to grasp his. "I couldn't find a pulse on her. I don't know what to do. I can't move her or I could kill her, but I don't even know if CPR would work." She shook a bit. He tried to comfort her by rubbing her hands. "I'm not a doctor or a nurse—I don't know what to do."
Miroku continued to rub her hands as he felt himself begin to worry—for the first time since the crunch of the cab—about the woman lingering in the back seat.