It had been a couple of weeks since Kiba had begun freeloading at the Kamiya Dojo. The daily routines of cleaning, walking into town with Kenshin, relaxing with Sano and having various medical examinations with Dr Gensai and Megumi had become second nature, although she could have done without the last one. Being poked and prodded by the two doctors who had no idea what ailed her was not her idea of fun.
After a slightly longer session than normal Kiba walked through the house and sat by Sanosuke watching Kenshin play with Dr Gensai's two granddaughters. She chuckled as they pulled him this way and that, demanding his concentration and attention. Pain struck her chest, a sure sign that she would start coughing; reluctantly she pulled a cloth from her kimono sleeve and managed to get it to her mouth in time to catch the first choking cough.
"Kiba!" Kenshin noticed her movements and ran up to her after telling the two girls to go find Yahiko and ask him to play with them.
"They've been getting more frequent and more exhausting," Sanosuke said, he had seen her hiding around corners or had heard her in the middle of the night. It was obvious she didn't want people to know that the condition of her health was going downhill. Kenshin looked back at Kiba, his eyebrows creased in worry.
"Kiba!" Kaoru came running round the corner, Megumi fast on her heels.
"Breathe, Kiba, breathe," she kept saying, patting the girl on the back.
"Stop…that," Kiba managed to gasp out, anger clear in her eyes. After a few minutes, her coughing calmed and she took a couple of deep breaths trying to get her heart rate under control. Quickly, so no one could see, she folded the cloth and put it back into her pocket.
"I see the problem now," Megumi started, a triumphant look in her eyes.
"If you dare say that I was hyperventilating, so help me I will rip off your head and use it as a ball," Kiba snarled, flexing her hands at the all too real threat.
"What else can it be!?" Megumi threw her hands up into the air. Never had she had as much trouble with a patient like she had with Kiba.
As Kiba stood, the cloth fell out of her pocket and before she could pick it up, Kaoru caught it and unfolded in her hand. She gasped at the crimson stain of new blood on it.
"Kiba!" Kaoru cried, she grabbed the shoulder of the woman who had started to walk away.
"Don't, Kaoru," Kiba warned wearily, she reached up and pulled a hand through her hair. She pulled her shoulder out of Kaoru's grasp and walked towards the dojo's entrance.
"Where do you think you are going?!" Kaoru caught her shoulder again before she could walk out of the compound.
"Stop it Kaoru, I'm fine," Kiba said, pushing past her and out into the street.
"You are not fine. Come back inside," she demanded. She shook her head and took off running, narrowly missing a tiny girl with a reddish brown bob.
"Miss Kaoru, I'll go after her," Kenshin said stepping into his sandals. She nodded and turned away with a frown on her face. The red haired man walked out and crouched down beside the girl Kiba had almost hit and smiled gently at her.
"Are you alright?" he asked, she looked up and nodded before looking behind Kenshin and smiled broadly.
"Sensei," she squealed before launching herself into the man's arms. Kenshin stood and turned only to freeze in shock at the man's appearance. His hair was black and white and his face held two colours of skin.
"Pinako," the man's voice was gentle despite the fact he was scolding the tiny child, "I thought I lost you. Don't run off again."
He bowed to Kenshin before turning away and walking off, the small girl dancing around in front of him. Kenshin grinned before running off in the direction Kiba had disappeared in.
It didn't take him long to find her, she was sat alone staring at the river, watching the fish as they swam around looking for food.
"I thought this is where I could find you," Kenshin said quietly as he sat down beside her.
"I can't go back, I'm sorry Kenshin," though her voice was no louder than a whisper, he heard it tremble, "I can't take being locked in a room for the rest of my life."
He reached out and gently wrapped his arm around her waist pulling her to him; she placed her head on his shoulder.
"You have always been a free child, that you have," he laughed and felt her chuckle.
They sat there for an hour watching the sun slowly slip from the sky.
"Look Doc, that's the girl who didn't say sorry when she almost barged into me," Kenshin heard a high pitched voice say, he turned his head and saw the young girl called Pinako waving at them, the doctor behind. He started when he saw the shocked expression on the doctor's face.
"What's wrong?" Kiba sat up and followed Kenshin's line of sight to see Black Jack and his assistant standing there in front of them. She gasped, her breath caught in the back of her throat and she choked.
"Kiba!" Kenshin cried as she held her chest as vicious coughs wracked her body. Her eyes flew open and she quickly put a hand over her mouth, her pained expression deepening with every cough. She pulled away from Kenshin and crawled slowly away from him, she snarled dangerously when he tried to follow but that increased the severity of her coughing fit.
What's the matter with her?" Jack asked when he ran up, his eyes fixed on the girl in front of him who was struggling to breathe, her coughs becoming hoarse as her throat began to close up.
"We don't know, even Miss Megumi, the town doctor doesn't know how to help her," Kenshin punched the ground in frustration. Jack ran up to her and put a hand on her back and felt the shudders each cough caused her body. She suddenly gagged and her nails dug into the ground, sending her knuckles white. He brought a hand down hard on her back and she vomited everything out onto the grass; she gasped and tipped forward exhausted, jack caught her before she could land in her own vomit, he put an arm round her back and the other arm under her legs and hoisted her into the air.
"Sir, take us to this Megumi's clinic," he demanded, Kenshin nodded quickly and lead the way. Pinako, out of a nurse's curiosity, ran up and looped where Kiba had been kneeling and gasped in shock as she saw that the grass had been stained crimson by the copper haired woman's blood..
She ran off after Black Jack and carried his medical bag, staying by his side as she looked up at the girl in his arms, worry clearly evident on her face.
"Doctor," Pinako's voice wavered as she bit her bottom lip, her eyes filling up with tears.
"She'll be alright, but I'll need your help," he looked down at her seriously; she nodded and wiped the tears from her eyes.
Kiba looked up at jack with unfocused eyes, her hand weakly holding the edge of his cloak and her head nestled on his chest.
He felt her body tense under his arms and he gripped her tighter, knowing that she was fighting the urge to cough. As he watched, a trickle of blood escaped from her mouth and trailed down her chin.
"Stay with me," he whispered, his voice rumbling through his chest into her ear. Pinako dug through her pockets and pulled out a handkerchief, which she reached up and gave to Kiba who looked at it blankly.
"Keep it," she whispered, looking up at the frail girl in her 'husband's' arms. Kiba reached down and gently took the piece of cloth from the girl, her face creased into a frown of concentration, trying not to drop the cloth that Pinako offered to her. She brought it to her mouth and wiped off the blood before spitting the blood from her mouth into it, letting the cloth soak up the offending fluid. She watched as the white of the handkerchief turn read and bowed her head in guilt at ruining Pinako's possession.
"Don't worry about it," Jack whispered, "I'll buy her a new one in town, when I go next."
Kiba smiled before coughing into the cloth again, as the blood spread through it Jack quickened his steps which meant that Pinako had to run to keep up.
"Look, we're almost there," Jack said gently, Kiba weakly turned her head to see the clinic sign hung on the edge of the road, Kenshin made it there first.
"Miss Megumi!" he cried, the long haired woman ran out with Kaoru on her heels, "We need a room." The expression on his face showed that he was deadly serious; they looked up from him and saw Jack walking into the yard with Kiba nestled in his arms.
"Follow me," Megumi said urgently and led them to a room at the back of the house.
"Kenshin, what happened?" Kaoru asked as she watched Black Jack gently lie Kiba down on the futon.
"She had another attack, though this one was the worst by far," he whispered, his bangs shadowing his eyes. Kaoru gasped and stared down at the strong woman who had been reduced to such a frail state by her own body.
"Pinako," Jack murmured, "take the others into the other room and introduce us whilst I check her vitals," Pinako nodded and pulled Kenshin out of the room after asking everyone to step out.