"What happened?"

"Bar fight."

Kagome groaned, grabbing her kit. "Drunk people being stupid again?"

Her partner shook his head. "Actually, no. Well, yes, in the beginning. Someone got handsy with one of the female bartenders, and he threw a glass at her when she told him off."

Kagome pursed her lips, swallowing back her temper. "So once again, the victim is the one who got hurt."

Katsuki shook his head. "One of the other bartenders stepped in and took the brunt of the hit. The glass nicked his carotid, though; started bleeding out on the spot."

Cursing under her breath, she tightened her hold on her kit. "We stocked on blood packs?"

"Yeah," he said, opening the door for her, "but I don't think they're going to help."

"Youkai?" she asked, following the open path between patrons to the bar.

"Daiyoukai," Katsuki replied, falling in behind her.

Kagome raised an eyebrow, already unzipping her bag. "I didn't think there were any left in Japan."

"Neither did I, but the people who called it in said he almost levelled the place when he collapsed. No one else could even get near him."

"Which is why they called us."

"Which is why they called us," he confirmed, pulling sutras out of his bag. With youkai now prevalent in the modern era, the government had been forced to recruit people with holy power and medical degrees. Kagome herself had been sought after by various hospitals and was part of the team that trained others on how to use their skills to heal youkai on the fly.

She and Katsuki had been working together for nearly three years, the two hitting it off almost instantly. It had only been after he'd mentioned how being a monk ran in his family that she began to see the resemblance.

A quick search through his family tree confirmed what she'd already known: he was a direct descendant of Sango and Miroku.

Which was why she adamantly refused any transfers or personnel changes whenever they came up—she wanted to stay with Katsuki for as long as possible.

She found the manager at the end of the bar, a troubled expression on her face when they approached. "I tried to get everyone to clear out, but he's a fan favourite, and everyone's worried and—"

Kagome patted her on the shoulder. "It's alright. Has anyone touched him since he collapsed?"

The manager shook her head. "No one's been able to help at all. I think he's got some sort of failsafe for when he gets hurt."

Katsuki slipped passed them, and Kagome felt the barrier ripple as he stepped through it. "Damn, he's a strong one. Gonna need your help on this, Kags." She stepped around the manager, cringing at the blood pooling around the man's head. She couldn't even tell what colour his hair was, the messy ponytail drenched in the scarlet liquid.

"Put pressure on the wound. We have to stabilize him before moving him," she said, kneeling next to her partner. Katsuki hissed when he touched him, pulling his hands back like he'd been burned.

"Looks like this one is yours." He went to work pulling out supplies, handing each piece over to her as she wiped the wound clean, his blood oozing through her fingers as she struggled to stop the flow.

"Come on, buddy. You need to work with us on this one," Katsuki murmured, placing a sutra on his back to keep him sedated. Then he grabbed the man's shoulders and rolled him onto his side, and Kagome let out an audible gasp when she saw his face.

"Sesshoumaru."

Her partner blinked, looking between their patient and her. "Do you know him?" The amount of blood around them suddenly registered, and Kagome shoved Katsuki away.

"Go get a stretcher. Now!" She shoved him again when he didn't immediately move. "And give me your sutras. We need to put some on his hands. He's poisonous." Katsuki scrambled away, doing as he was told as Kagome rolled Sesshoumaru the rest of the way onto his back.

He was deathly pale, his markings standing out even more than usual, dark circles under his eyes. She looked up at the manager. "You said he protected another bartender?"

The woman nodded. "He kind of doubles as security. If anyone poses any trouble, he's the one we go to."

"Was the attacker arrested?" she asked, teeth grinding.

A petite redhead poked her head up from behind her boss. "A couple of the servers cornered him before he could leave."

"Good. Hold him until the police get here." She was not going to let this go unpunished. Katsuki quickly returned with the stretcher, it taking both of them to lift him before they could wheel him out.

Police sirens sounded, lights blazing as Kagome climbed into the back with Sesshoumaru. She called out to the manager. "Gather as many witnesses as possible—people at the bar, the attacker's friends, whoever. Nobody leaves until the police have gotten statements from everyone." Not bothering to wait for a reply, she slammed the door shut, yelling at the driver as she started grabbing more supplies.

He wouldn't die. Not like this.

"Kags, you need to calm down. Follow protocol," Katsuki said, tugging her down into her seat. "None of that stuff is going to work on him." He hooked Sesshoumaru up to the heart monitor, and she winced at how weak and thready it sounded. Sucking in a ragged breath, she went through the steps in her head.

Even with the various peace treaties, youkai were wary about donating blood. It could fall into the wrong hands, be used for experiments like it had in the past, which was half the reason people like Kagome were so sought after.

"This looks bad, Kags. He's strong, but with the amount of blood he's lost—"

"Use me."

Katsuki blanched. "But we're not—"

"I don't care. They can write me up. Or fire me. But this one doesn't die on my watch." She held out her arm, giving him a pointed look. Those with spiritual power were a universal blood type when it came to transfusions, even more than type O, but there were rules about it, paperwork to be filled out, and it was only used in dire situations, the samples kept under heavy guard.

To them, Sesshoumaru was nobody.

To Kagome, he was everything.

"What's your connection to him?" Katsuki asked once he'd inserted tubes into each of their arms, blood flowing freely from her body to Sesshoumaru's.

"He's my husband," she lied, swallowing back the onslaught of emotion as she wiped his face clean.

Her partner gave her a startled look. "You never mentioned you were married!"

"It's complicated," she said. She'd fully intended on asking him—on presenting her suit after their battle with Naraku, but the months had turned into years, and by the time the jewel had been wished away, it had taken her with it, a string of what ifs keeping her up at night ever since she'd returned.

She'd never dreamed she'd actually see him again.

They wheeled him through the emergency room, the head nurse giving her a scrutinizing look when she noticed the tube running from her arm, but Kagome merely raised her chin, daring her to say anything.

Thankful that he didn't need surgery, they set him up in a private room, Kagome not once leaving his side.

"Tell him to update his emergency contacts when he wakes up," the night doctor said. "All the numbers are from overseas, and some were out of service." She nodded, pulling her chair closer so she could sit next to his bed. "I can bring in a cot for you—"

"I'm fine," she replied, choking on the words, the lie tasting bitter on her lips as she traced the stripes on his wrist. They'd long pulled her tube out, giving her a waiver to sign if they needed to repeat the process after he woke up.

Colour had returned to his face, his breathing evening out once they'd added a few painkillers and saline to his roster, the clear tubes a reprieve from the red ones from earlier.

"It's a good thing you were working today. He probably wouldn't have made it if you hadn't."

Kagome shuddered at the thought, intertwining their fingers as the doctor left. "Hopefully, you're not too angry about being saved by a human," she mused, tears sliding silently down her face. She leaned up, kissing the crescent moon on his forehead. "Just fight, okay? You can yell at me all you want as long as you wake up."

It was touch-and-go throughout the night, Sesshoumaru not moving even as his blood pressure spiked, jarring Kagome awake from a tormented sleep. She lay her head on the bed next to him, watching for any other signs he might suddenly need extra medical care.

A little after seven in the morning, he finally opened his eyes, pupils contracting at the fluorescent lighting as he looked around. Kagome's hand tightened around his, tears overflowing as he looked at her, golden eyes widening as recognition dawned.

"Kagome."

"How are you feeling?"

He raised his other hand to brush his hair out of his eyes, frowning when the tubes in his arm caught on the edge of his bed.

"Do you remember what happened?" she asked. "You were working in a bar, and someone threw a glass at you—

"Well, good morning! Glad to see you back in the land of the living." Katsuki stepped into the room, a cup of coffee in each hand.

"My partner," Kagome said when Sesshoumaru blinked in confusion. "The other paramedic that helped save you."

Katsuki snorted. "Helped my ass. If you hadn't been there, Kags, we'd be filling out an obituary instead of release forms." He handed her a cup, the scent of hazelnut wafting by her nose. "I hope you're already thinking of how to make it up to your wife, Taisho-san. She's the reason you're alive."

Kagome hid her reaction by taking a drink of her coffee, heat staining her cheeks. Katsuki would never let her live it down when he discovered she'd lied and risked both of their careers.

"Indeed."

She pulled the edge of the paper cup away from her mouth, turning to look at the daiyoukai and finding his eyes still on her. Katsuki gave Sesshoumaru a play-by-play of what happened, letting him know that his attacker had been officially arrested. "Seems like you've got lots of friends. They all came to your defence."

Kagome continued to blush under his scrutiny, his gaze unwavering. "If that is all, could you inform the doctors that I have regained consciousness? I wish to speak to my wife."

"Sure thing." He moved to leave, then turned back. "Oh, Kags, you've got the rest of the week off. I cleared it with HR. I figured you'd need the time to get him settled and whatnot. Call me if you need anything." He lifted his coffee cup in farewell, then left the room.

"Did we get married while I was unconscious?" he asked as soon as the door closed.

"No," she said, biting her lip.

"Then why did your partner insinuate such?"

"It was the only way to save you!" she blurted, tearing up again. "There are rules about miko and youkai sharing their blood! There's never been any daiyoukai blood on record because you never get injured. As someone with holy power, I'm compatible with everyone—"

"So you lied."

She let out a choked laugh. "I guess it's lucky you're not involved with anyone. They all believed it without an issue." Kagome got to her feet. "I'll get everything cleared up once you're discharged, and—" His fingers tightened around hers, and she paused, looking at their connected hands before meeting his gaze once more.

"You risked your career to save me." It wasn't a question, but she nodded anyway. "Why?"

It was incredibly disconcerting to be forced to answer when they'd only just reunited. And he was still holding her hand.

"Does it have anything to do with the conversation you wished to have after the defeat of the spider?"

Her cheeks only darkened. Maybe she had been a little more transparent than she'd thought. Though she could hardly blame him—she'd all but forced him to promise to meet up with her afterwards.

He plucked the disposable cup from her hand, then tugged her closer to the bed. "I am willing to listen if you are still willing to speak."

"B-But—" she sputtered, eyes widening, "—that was almost five centuries ago!"

"I am able to tell time," he replied, leaning back against his pillow.

She bit her bottom lip. "Don't you know what I'm going to say?"

"Perhaps," he chuckled, the sound doing much to ease her worries. "But I would rather hear it from you instead of making assumptions. I have done that enough over the years."

"So, you're not mad?"

"I cannot fathom what I would be angry about." She watched as he brought her hand to his cheek, her mouth going dry as he rubbed it softly against his skin. "And depending on the conversation, I hope our reunion will not be limited to just today."

Relief swept through her, giving her the courage needed to speak from the heart, Sesshoumaru never once letting go of her hand.

He didn't correct the doctor when he addressed her as his wife, either.