InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shrine Prostitute ❯ Apprehension ( Chapter 23 )

Shrine Prostitute by FlameTwirler

 

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A/N: Be forewarned that this chapter get a little graphic regarding Inuyasha's lifestyle. (Really, what would you call it? It's not really `violence' since I'm only showing the after effects, so what: warning for post-violence gruesomeness? Sure, we'll go with that)

 

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Chapter 22: Apprehension

----- Anticipation of adversity or misfortune; suspicion or fear of future trouble or evil.

----- Acceptance of or receptivity to information without passing judgment on its validity, often without complete comprehension

 

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Kagome's excitement overtook her the closer she got to Inuyasha's room until she was nearly running to wrench the door open. As soon as she was inside she spun to close the door softly, make sure it was locked tight, and gather herself together before facing him. The fact he hadn't made a sound since she entered, that there was no warm reception waiting for her, struck her as slightly odd, but she hoped it was because he was just as tongue-tied as she. As she turned though she realized just how wrong she was. Instantly she saw she'd just walked straight into a nightmare, only she knew this one all too well.

 

She didn't realize where he was at first, thinking there was simply a bundle of red cloth lying on the bed. However the distinctive sheen of his hair and the shiny tint to the red made it impossible to deny what she saw.

 

Inuyasha lay sprawled out across the bed on his stomach, grizzled almost beyond recognition. His head was turned toward the wall but he didn't move when she stepped toward him, showcasing to her the extent of his exhaustion. His ears perked up though and she knew by now that he could identify her by smell so at least she didn't have to worry he thought she was someone else.

 

Trying to make as little noise as possible, knowing his injuries often made his hearing more sensitive, she softly made her way over to him, careful not to move the mattress in any way lest it jostle his injuries. He didn't actually look quite as cut up as he had the last time she'd found him like this - instead whole sections of flesh had been peeled back or gored out - and there was definitely more blood. He was completely covered in it, with barely a patch of clean skin showing through and his hair matted down with the sticky substance.

 

Multiple wounds across his back were still seeping blood and she knew that could only mean one of two things: either the wounds had been inflicted very recently, which she doubted since she knew she was the first client of the night, or he'd been exposed to so much harm recently that his body was having trouble keeping up with the taxing demands for healing itself. The thought made her blanche, to realize the latter must be true and he'd been in such torturous situations for a few days at minimum, possibly even going back to it right after she'd seen him last.

 

She shook her head, unable to dwell on it at the moment. He'd bled out so much the sheets were soaked as well and, unless she guessed wrong, the mattress beneath him was probably in rather poor shape too. There was no way a pathetic little sponge bath could take care of such a mess and she gratefully grasped at having something to do.

 

She spoke softly, guessing he likely had a horrendous headache from the sheer amount of blood loss and not wanting to aggravate it. "Inuyasha, I'm just going to go get something, okay?" Getting no reaction she softly touched his shoulder simply to reassure them both. Once at the door she glanced back at him, cursing even this short time she had to leave him. "I'll be right back," she whispered, then was on her way.

 

As soon as she was in the hall her eyes turned blazing hot and she marched at a rapid pace toward the front desk. She barreled right through all the people in the lobby and shoved her way up to Ryu, not caring that he was in the middle of a conversation with someone else.

 

She held out her hand to him and demanded, "Keys," in a no-nonsense tone that had him nearly gawking at her. Immediately knowing what must have happened and not wanting to bring any more attention to the situation he quickly went into action. He forced himself to walk sedately back to the store room where he and the other Shrine employees kept their personal belongings, fished out the keys to his apartment, and strolled back to her as if nothing was wrong. All the while his insides were a torrent, wondering how bad it was that she needed to get the hanyou out of the relative safety of his own room.

 

Keeping his eyes averted he nonchalantly tossed the keys to her. "Sorry about the mix-up," he mumbled, hoping to cover his tracks for any overly-curious onlookers from the group in front of them.

 

Kagome couldn't be bothered to care as she instantly spun on her heel and pushed her way back out of the group. Pausing to collect herself once again outside Inuyasha's room she tried to shirk herself of the anger she was sure was present on her face. It certainly wouldn't do to have him seeing her like this. Taking a deep breath she walked back into the room and straight over to Inuyasha, who looked like he hadn't moved even the tiniest bit since she left.

 

"I'm going to have to ask you to get up now," she said, trying her hardest to keep the sadness from her voice, knowing he would interpret it as pity and thus as his own weakness. She sat on the bed next to him when he still didn't move and she shook herself to be more business-like, seeing that she'd have to push him. "Look, I know you probably don't want to do anything, let alone get out of bed, but I've got to get you cleaned up. I know you heal just fine on your own but we can't let any infection get sealed up in there, which is very likely to happen with old blood festering on you."

 

She took the hand closest to the edge of the bed and gave it a little tug. With a start he turned his head toward her and with her coaxing she eventually got him standing. He swayed lightly where he stood and she gathered the blood loss was even worse than she'd imagined at first. Leaving him propped against the bed she rummaged in his closet for a black sweatshirt and pants. It was really too hot to be wearing such clothes outside but she knew his first concern would be keeping himself and his situation covered from peeping eyes.

 

She winced as she manoeuvred him around to get the clothes on him, even more when she had to pull them against his already damaged skin, but all in all they managed. Once he was fully clothed she grabbed the pitcher of water always at hand and used one of the rags to clean his hands and face, then pulled the sweatshirt's hood up over his head, careful to cover any traces of blood that might give him away.

 

He didn't make a sound the whole time. Only when she lifted his arm over her shoulder, his feet still unsteady beneath him, and started toward the door did he finally speak. "Where...going?" he rasped.

 

"I'm taking you to Ryu's apartment to clean you properly." She pulled the keys from her pocket and dangled them gently for him to hear. "He should have a shower so we can get you a bit more sanitized."

 

He merely grunted his acknowledgment and Kagome took that as approval to continue, not that she'd really expected any arguments from him in his current condition. Oh, she knew he might mope about it later, but for now he couldn't summon the energy to bother arguing with her.

 

Having spent enough time in the city, and being bored or simply not interested in the other ways to kill the daylight hours, she'd spent endless amounts of time mapping the labyrinth of halls in the Shrine and where each one had an outlet into which courtyard. She'd never expected her wanderings to come in quite this handy though.

 

Taking what she hoped would be the least-used paths this time of night she wended her way to the back of the Shrine, going the long way around the connected healing temple since she now knew they preferred to keep daylight hours as much as possible. It was a long, circuitous route that pained her to have to drag Inuyasha through but she knew he'd further appreciate the privacy.

 

Finally they arrived at Ryu's apartments and she loosened her grip on Inuyasha, helping him to lean against the wall as she fumbled with the keys in the lock, searching until she found the right one to open the door. She took a quick peek inside, trying to discern the layout before taking Inuyasha into the wrong room. Thankfully it was small enough that she didn't have too much to worry about.

 

Struggling inside, as they were both just about ready to collapse after their trek, they made their way past a small living space and kitchen into the surprisingly spacious bedroom. It had an adjoining bathroom and, Kagome was gratified to see, a perfectly ample shower.

 

"I need to get you out of your clothes now." Her mind whirled at how she'd previously expected to say such a phrase to him tonight but under entirely different circumstances. 

 

She painstakingly held the thick cloth away from him as she slid it off, hoping she hadn't caught any forming scabs or pulled open any already healing wounds. Deciding she didn't want to have to walk around in wet jeans she quickly shrugged out of her clothes but kept on her undershirt and underwear in order to attempt to maintain objectivity - and just in case Ryu came to check on them.

 

Pulling him into the shower with her she turned her back to the shower head as she adjusted the spray to the right temperature. His energy had to be nonexistent at that point so she flipped their positions and sat him on the tile, grabbing the soap and an extra washcloth from the counter before kneeling next to him.

 

She cleaned him with all the care she could muster, though she couldn't tell how effective any of it was or if she was hurting him since he didn't make a sound or move at all. Slowly, finally satisfied he was blood-free, she cooled the water to prevent his wounds from bleeding out further.

 

Her eyes turned glassy and dull as she stared blankly at his chest, repulsed by the night's turn of events. Without realizing it she had begun crying, and once it started she couldn't prevent her tears from turning into full-out sobs. She buried her face in her hands, unable to help herself from breaking down fully in front of him. 

 

"Why? Why would you choose this over me, when I want you with me so badly?" she hiccupped out. She started when she felt his hand against her back, pulling her weakly but determinedly into his chest. She couldn't really lean against him without hurting him so she just touched the top of her head to his skin, comforted even with the small contact.

 

"Don't...cry," he croaked out, but that sent her into tears all over again. She was angry at the world for its prejudice, at him for his stubbornness, at herself for not being able to save him more effectively and, at the moment, for making him so uncomfortable with her tears that he was forced to exert himself further in his need to comfort her. She just never seemed able to do the right thing at the right time. But she was here now and she'd gotten him out of that awful mess of a bed so at least that was something.

 

At that moment she heard Ryu's voice from the entry and it was then she realized she'd forgotten to close the front door. If she'd had a free hand she would have smacked herself. "We're in here!" she called out.

 

Ryu popped his head in the bathroom door and immediately stepped back when he noted the state of their undress and that they were still in the shower. "You need anything?"

 

Quickly she leaned over to turn the shower off. "Do you have any towels we could use?"

 

"Sure," he said, and quickly gathered some up and plopped them outside the shower door. Kagome was tempted to ask for his help getting Inuyasha to stand up, since she felt her arms about to give out on her, but figured the hanyou's pride had already been burned enough with just her helping him out. Adding a second person in the mix was likely to only rub it in deeper. Apparently Ryu had the same idea because he said, "I'll be in the other room," and quickly left them to finish.

 

Patting him dry while he sat, she was glad that most of the cuts had stopped seeping and was only cursorily sorry about getting Ryu's towels bloodied. Taking a moment to swiftly towel out her hair and wrap one around her for modesty's sake now that Ryu was there, she hefted Inuyasha up beside her and secured an arm around his waist before delicately making their way out of the bathroom.

 

Ryu hadn't been idle either, it appeared, as there was an assortment of bandages, clothes, and even the standard rag and bowl of water next to the bed.

 

Inuyasha staggered as he worked to walk to the bed under his own power, causing Kagome to stumble as well, and Ryu was sore pressed to not throw Inuyasha's other arm around his own shoulder but he understood how a male's pride worked all too well. Instead he busied himself prepping the medical supplies on the bedside table, pretending he took no notice of the trouble the couple was having making the short trip across the room.

 

Blood was still dripping from a few of his wounds, smearing across Kagome's skin from where she held him as well, and she knew it would be a while before the larger gashes closed up. She sent an apologetic glance to Ryu. “Sorry about the towels and sheets,” she said, knowing if she put Inuyasha on the bed there'd be no way to salvage the bedclothes.

 

Ryu shrugged. “Doesn't matter to me. You just make sure you get that boy feeling better.”

 

Kagome nodded. “Would you mind…?” she inquired, gesturing to the gauze and then to Inuyasha's legs.

 

Finally taking part in the conversation, Inuyasha interrupted with a, “No.”

 

Brow scrunched in worry and confusion she turned on him. “You've lost too much blood to stand for long and we need to get you completely bandaged up before laying you down or the sheets will dry to your wounds again. If Ryu and I both work on the wrappings we'll get done much quicker.”

 

He simply said, “No,” again and Kagome sighed, exasperated.

 

“Fine,” she cried, throwing her hands up in the air only to have the movement cut short when she realized one was still caught behind Inuyasha's back, holding him upright. “Well, in that case there's no reason to work with your towel being in the way just to preserve modesty.”

 

Ryu tilted his head toward the doorway. “I'll be in the kitchen, then, if you need me or any more supplies.”

 

As soon as he was gone Inuyasha forced a small smile. “Admit it, you'd just prefer to have me naked no matter the situation.” He winced as Kagome loosened her grip on him to unwind the towel around his waist, forcing him to stand mostly under his own strength, ending in a tiny, strangled gasp when she pulled away a small part of the towel that had already dried to one of his wounds.

 

Kagome ignored the give-away and, knowing he obviously wanted something to distract himself with, returned his banter. “Me? Want to see you in all your natural glory? Now what on earth would give you an idea like that?” Smirking, she breathed the last words directly onto his neck as she reached behind him to grab a roll of gauze, pulling back to give him an equally pained, forced smile.

 

With a sigh she realized she had to bring him back to their current situation. “I'm going to have to let you go completely to do the wrapping. You let me know if you think you can't stand anymore and need to take a short break, all right? I know you won't want to but I don't want you falling over or passing out from your blood loss so you'll just have to bear with me tonight.” The fact he said nothing to argue the point worried her more than anything but she forced herself to focus solely on his wounds.

 

Leaning him carefully against the bed, trying to keep any of the wounds from being caught taking his weight, she reached to grab the supplies and started to wrap him, though she made slow work of it. She winced every time he winced, and when he saw her reaction he worked harder to stifle his own. That made her even more wary once she was unsure when she was hurting him so she worked even more carefully, taking her time to make sure she didn't graze any of the uncovered wounds as she wound her arms behind him to pass the roll of gauze. Twice she paused and forced him to relax a moment, despite the fact he'd said nothing about his weariness.

 

By the time she was done wrapping him some of the first bandages had already bled through, but she could see the sheen of sweat across his forehead and knew he couldn't take anymore at the moment. Instead, she helped him into the bed and laid the towel across his waist to preserve his modesty. Most of him was covered in bandages anyhow so it might not make much difference but she knew it made him more comfortable.

 

After making sure he was situated she left momentarily to get Ryu, who'd used the time to make some food. He came into the bedroom carrying two steaming bowls of ramen, one each for Inuyasha and himself, while Kagome carried her own. Ever since Kagome had had the foresight to send Inuyasha his little kettle Ryu made sure to keep some ramen on hand so he could treat the hanyou from time to time.

 

Ryu placed the bowls down on the bedside table, taking care with placing them just so and then fussing with them again and again, while Kagome propped Inuyasha up in the bed so he could eat. He tried to do it himself and his arms gave out on him three times before he allowed her to put extra pillows behind him.

 

She saw, though, how his hands shook just holding them in front of himself and knew there was no way he'd be able to support holding a bowl, let alone getting ramen from it to his mouth. So she made a big show of how badly she felt about the situation, how helpless she felt, and that it would make her feel so much better if she could feed Inuyasha. Everyone involved knew it was a show for Inuyasha's sake but they all went along with it, contented to pretend for the moment or even to laugh inwardly at Kagome's horrid acting skills.

 

Kagome held the bowl up to Inuyasha's lips, allowing him to take small sips at a time, scolding him slightly when he tried to drink too much at once, worried that it might make him sick. She knew his wounds would open immediately if he had to vomit and tried to do everything she could to prevent that from happening. Luckily his stomach appeared to be just as durable as the rest of him and he had no trouble holding down his food.

 

She glanced over at Ryu, noting how he ate absentmindedly, his worried gaze on Inuyasha, and was saddened to realize this was their first actual meal together and that it had to happen in such circumstances.

 

She ended up giving Inuyasha half her own bowl - she'd given up on it earlier, realizing she had no appetite - before he was satisfied and allowed her to help him lie back down. A look of understanding passed between Ryu and herself as she stood, getting ready to head back to Inuyasha's room to try to clean up as best she could for his return. Ryu could only have the hanyou in his apartment for so long before someone started snooping around, which could land him in serious trouble.

 

As soon as she stood, though, Inuyasha's hand reached out, grasping for her. Immediately she turned back to him, grabbing his hand in hers, pushing hair back from his face with the other. “Silly, I have to go. Your room isn't going to clean itself.”

 

At that he forced his eyes open. “Don't,” he gasped. “I'll do it.”

 

She snorted at that. “Right, like you're in any condition to do anything right now. No,” she held up a hand when he started to push himself up and argue his point, “it needs to be done and there's nothing else that can be done about it. Besides, I really don't mind.”

 

Even in his exhausted state he gave her a look that clearly doubted her sincerity and she had to agree. “Okay, fine, you're right, I do mind. The part about helping you out and cleaning up after you are fine, I can cope with that, but what I can't accept is that you continually allow this to be done to yourself, over and over and over. That's what I mind.”

 

He tried to scoff as well as he could. “Yeah, right, cause I've got so many options.”

 

“Yes,” she looked at him steadily, “you do.”

 

An awkward silence fell over the room and Kagome sighed. She wished she hadn't brought up a subject he was so uncomfortable with, especially since they'd essentially decided to delay their conversation about it for five years when they first made their bargain, but she just couldn't help herself sometimes. She stood again to leave but his grip was still firm on her hand, even if he wasn't looking her in the eye, and she had to smile at that.

 

“Inuyasha, I do need to-”

 

“Stay,” he cut her off.

 

She sighed but he could tell she wasn't at all put out by his request. If she missed him half as much as he missed her then it was a wonder she wanted to leave his side at all. As it was, even in such a condition he'd prefer to have her by his side, where he could smell her and feel her presence.

 

Getting situated on the bed next to him she leaned on one elbow, tracing his face lightly with her fingers. “I'll stay until you're asleep but then I'll need to go. We can't impose on Ryu for too long.” He grunted his assent and it was only then she looked around and realized Ryu had left them to themselves again. “Now sleep,” she said, idly playing with his damp hair. “You need to get better soon.”

 

“You just want me healthy for my body, eh wench?”

 

She laughed but the sound was forced and brittle to his ears. “Go to sleep,” she commanded softly again, and the feel of her fingers on him was so comforting he slipped into blessed unconsciousness within minutes, despite his desire to stay awake longer just for the luxury of her being with him.

 

Quietly, smoothly, she got up from the bed and was slightly surprised to find Ryu still in the kitchen. She'd expected he'd been needed back at work by now. Her surprised glance was enough and he explained, “I don't want him alone when he's hurt this badly. I'll stay with him until you come back.”

 

She nodded her thanks but paused halfway to the door when he spoke again. “I'm sorry,” he said softly, “I did everything I could to keep it from getting out of hand.”

 

“Don't be sorry, you have no control over what the Shrine allows.” She was silent for so long he thought she'd gone but then she broke the silence, her voice cracking. “It's my fault, isn't it. He said he hadn't told the Shrine he was leaving and that he might be in trouble when he got back - and this is it, isn't it? This is his punishment for his concern about me.”

 

Ryu tried to find a way to deny it but knew she would see through anything he came up with. “The client scheduled for the night he was gone is one of his worst, and I have no idea if he took that into account when he left. Regardless, she was quite upset when he returned - made all sort of unreasonable demands on the Shrine as compensation.”

 

“So did she…?”

 

“No. It just so happened that none of the customers he had lined up between then and now were willing to reschedule so, as a consequence, each of them got bumped back one night. I'm sure that added extra, erm, ire, to each of their sessions. With such violent encounters one after the other he wasn't healing fully and properly before each successive one and his system is just nearly at zero at this point. If you hadn't been his next scheduled client I likely would have had to intercede on his behalf before the Shrine committee.”

 

“So it is my fault,” she whispered.

 

“No,” Ryu said decidedly. “It's not your fault. What Inuyasha did he did knowingly, and even then, how could you blame him for such a decision? Blame the other clients, the Shrine, the current laws, anything, but don't blame yourself.”

 

Kagome nodded but, not trusting her voice, said nothing else as she finally left Ryu's apartment. Wearily she made her way back to Inuyasha's room, glad to have avoided anyone she even remotely recognized, and locked the door behind her as soon as she entered. The room absolutely reeked of the coppery tang of blood but she couldn't bring herself to be revolted since it was part of Inuyasha, and since it was because of his concern for her that it had been brought about. Any stomach lurching she might have felt at the sight and smell of so much blood was chased away by the damning weight of her own shame. How could she not be strong enough, competent enough, to protect him from something so horrific?

 

Going to the little side table against the wall she opened the cabinet door and pulled out all of the hydrogen peroxide, bleach, other cleaners, and rags inside. She had the unfortunate feeling she was going to need all of them.

 

With a disparaging eye for the walls she decided against working on them first. Not only did they look like they were going to require a great deal of scrubbing but she figured if she cleaned the mattress first then it would have more time to dry.

 

She pulled the sheets off, wincing when they cracked and crumbled in the spots where the blood had dried and quickly threw them into the hamper. She'd have just trashed them but she had no idea how many sets of sheets he had at any given time, or if they were considered Shrine property, and he might get in trouble for their disappearance. Even though apparently their utter desecration and destruction is just fine by them, she thought mutinously.

 

After the sheets were off she wasn't surprised to see a spreading red stain covering the entirety of where Inuyasha's body had lain and she started to pour the bottle of peroxide on it, scrunching up her face at the fizzing and bubbling. Waiting a few moments while she worked on other parts of the room, she returned to wipe off the foam with one of the rags before repeating the process over and over when her hand slipped and she dropped the bottle onto the bed. She fumbled for it before all the contents spilled out, but when she got it back under control she was concerned to see other parts of the mattress bubbling - parts that didn't have bits of bright red on them.

 

Out of curiosity she poured a bit on one corner of the bed that looked relatively unscathed and her heart sank when the entire area started foaming. The realization hit her hard - that at one time or another his entire mattress had been covered in his blood. He'd not only had to endure such pain and torture but then was expected to clean it up himself, only to have it done to him again and again.

 

It was too much for her and she flipped the mattress over so she wouldn't have to see the evidence of its horrors right in front of her, then felt ashamed and embarrassed for her weakness. Here she was feeling dread and torment at just the thought of what he had to go through yet that's all it was - just a thought. That was nothing to what he truly endured and this time her stomach did lurch.

 

She tried to busy herself to keep from being preoccupied with such morbid ideas and without thought she dumped the remains of the bottle onto the clean, dry side of the mattress - and watched it, too, begin to foam.

 

Her legs failed her and as she sank to the floor, the perverse sound of fizzing filling the room, her strength of will gave out too. She breathed out scratchy tears, not in the least for her shame at feeling so hurt and wronged about things that didn't even happen to her directly and that she didn't feel even a fraction as much as Inuyasha did. She mourned for him while she was ensconced safely away from him, where he wouldn't see her weakness or feel his pride offended.

 

She allowed herself her moment of discomposure and then did her best to shrug it off and pull her bravado back on. She had a job to do and she needed to do it quickly so she could get him back quickly, though she regretted having to pull him from the relative comfort of Ryu's apartment so soon. Regardless, she had a multitude of things to do and not a lot of time to do them in.

 

First, though, there was one other thing she had to do. Opening the small wall-section next to the door she pulled out a small Shrine-use phone. It wasn't outgoing - as far as she knew, at least - but she hoped she'd be able to make the call she needed anyhow. Instead of dialing the line for reception, where she was sure she'd get Kazuma, she called Ryu's apartment. Luckily she'd remembered his line correctly and, since Ryu had most of the extensions memorized, she had no trouble getting the one she needed.

 

Instantly she dialed Miroku's room, worried once it reached its twelfth ring that maybe he and Sango hadn't ended up in his quarters at all but instead had managed a private conference room or something of the like. Finally, she heard a male voice on the other end and, worried she might have gotten it wrong, she verified, “Miroku?”

 

He immediately perked up and, though deflated when she asked for Sango, gave no demur to the request. As soon as she had her friend on the line she told her she wouldn't be able to meet up the following day to introduce Inuyasha as they'd planned.

 

Even if not for her friend's words, Kagome's tone of voice was enough to let Sango know something was off and she immediately asked what had gone wrong. For reasons obvious to them both though, Kagome didn't go into detail. “I've never seen anyone so close to death,” she whispered at the end of her explanation. Until she spoke it aloud Kagome hadn't realized how worried she'd been about Inuyasha's ability to recover, especially after Ryu's revelation of the constant abuse and the continually slowing rate to his healing.

 

Sango, for her part, was horrified as well. Certainly she'd heard Kagome's words when she'd explained Inuyasha's situation but somehow it seemed so much less real when at such a distance. Now with him being in the same building and hearing the broken tone to Kagome's voice she was all too aware of the grisly reality facing her friend.

 

“Okay, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to give my cell phone to Miroku and whenever you have the opportunity he'll pass it on to you.”

 

Kagome was startled momentarily by the familiarity and trust with which Sango seemed to be addressing Miroku but realized she just didn't have the mental capacities to deal with that at the moment and that she'd just have to track her friend down later. “Sango, are you sure? Don't you need your phone at home?”

 

“What I need is to be able to check up on my friend and I don't want to have to go through five other Shrine workers to get to you. Besides, if your situation really is that bad at the moment I doubt you'd want me sending other people over to get you on the line just so I can get some information. This is the best solution all around, so take it. You'll have your hands full so I doubt you'll have time to be running up huge long-distance bills on it.”

 

It was dry wit, and coming from Sango no less. The fact that her normally stoic friend was working so hard to lighten her mood worked more than anything else could have. “Thank you,” she said with as much heartfelt emotion as she could manage, and even then felt she was lacking. “Look, I've got to go, I've still got a lot to do. Everything alright with you?”

 

“Yes, yes,” Sango said impatiently, “don't worry about it, we'll catch up later. Now you just go and do what you need to do.”

 

“Thank you,” she said again. “I'll talk to you in a few days then.”

 

“Take care, Kagome.” The line severed and Kagome slowly put the phone back in its cradle and shut the wall latch. Without a sound she got busy and returned to cleaning.

 

It was going to be a long night.

 

~ ~ ~

 

As soon as Sango hung up the phone the sick feeling in her stomach worsened. She held the phone limply and Miroku took it from her, closing it up in the wall, before leading her back to the armchair and sitting her down.

 

“What was that? It didn't sound pretty at all.” He was startled to see the brave woman who'd first stepped into his room suddenly looking so lost, all color leeched from her face.

 

In a startling movement she looked up at him, her eyes beseeching. “Miroku, can I trust you? I don't mean the casual `yeah, sure, you can trust me with meaningless secrets from years ago' but trusting in the hard stuff, things you might not like and might make the world look just a little bit more dreary?” She had her instincts, of course, and felt that while he was so seemingly absurd with most everything that he'd be completely serious when necessary. Still, she wanted to hear it confirmed, hear how he'd phrase things in order to back up her gut.

 

He sat on the arm of the chair. “I really don't like where this is heading, but yes, you can trust me - at the very least on this account. I know this has to do with Inuyasha and I already told you my feelings on that matter. So what happened?”

 

“He was beaten,” she took a shaky breath and he waited for the real news to fall - after all, unfortunately that was normal for him. “He was beaten badly, near death in fact. He still had a multitude of wounds that were bleeding freely when she arrived.”

 

He whistled low at that. He didn't know much about the physical systems of hanyou and youkai but he knew that Inuyasha should have been healed much better than that after even just a few hours. “I had heard there was some sort of scuffle about him going missing a little while ago and that the Shrine wasn't terribly happy with him. I guess this is the outcome.”

 

“That's my guess as well.”

 

“How would you even know about that?”

 

Sango took a deep breath, assuring herself it was alright to tell him what she had to say next. “Because the reason he went missing is because he went to see Kagome.”

 

She only needed to hear Miroku's quick intake of breath to know he understood the significance of that, of how much it told of the attachment between the two. “He was worried about her and just wanted to check to make sure she was alright, but I guess it threw off his schedule here. Still, Kagome's seen him in bad shape here before but this seems to be the worst it's ever been.”

 

Miroku squeezed her shoulder, not knowing what to say.

 

“She had to go seclude him at Ryu's for a while. There was just so much blood and he has no shower…” She trailed off and they both looked at the bathroom just across from them. “Now Kagome's trying to clean up his room but from the sound of it that'll be quite the endeavor.”

 

They were quiet for a while before Miroku finally broke the silence. “Do you want to go help her?”

 

She was startled at his suggestion but he could see her mind going to work on it instantly. “Do you think we could?”

 

Miroku pulled on his earring, an absentminded habit that helped him think, as he pondered not only the pros and cons of doing such a thing but also the little fact that she'd automatically included him.

 

Sango, too impatient to wait him out, spilled out her concerns. “Would there be any problem for you if we were seen outside your room? Would there be any repercussions if we were spotted going into Inuyasha's room? Would he be able to smell our presence in there? Kagome says he's really proud and from what she's said I don't think he'd appreciate knowing we were aware of his situation.”

 

Miroku, coming to his own decision, waved her concerns away. “All trifling matters, really. As long as you're with me I shouldn't have any problems. If anyone asks about us going to Inuyasha's room just say you're lending Kagome your phone - it's legitimate and the truth so no problems there. As for the smell? We can only hope that the cleaners will cover our trail. Besides, if he's in as bad a condition as you're making him out to be I doubt his senses will be at full capacity. If he asks Kagome about it she can just say she saw the two of us and that he's smelling our presence on her.” He looked down at her still too-pale face. “Satisfied?”

 

“Yes, very,” she nodded, and he was glad to see her determination returning. Quickly retrieving her phone, leaving her purse behind so as to leave less of a scent-marker in Inuyasha's room, she held Miroku back at the door. “Thank you,” she said quietly, her heart in her words. “I know you don't have to do this and that I dragged you into the situation but I really appreciate it.”

 

“Of course,” he said, grabbing her elbow and pulling her out the door. He didn't let go, linking their arms once they were outside, and that's how they walked through corridor after corridor until they got to Inuyasha's room. She could tell just by looking at the outside that the door was his - it had no extra gilding, nothing of the beauty found everywhere else in the Shrine. Steeling herself for any protests that might come from Kagome she raised her hand and knocked before trying the doorknob. She wasn't surprised to find it locked.

 

“Kagome, it's me. Let me in!”

 

It was a few moments before they heard the dull thunk of the lock sliding back into its housing and when the door didn't open in welcome Sango pushed it open herself. She found herself rooted in horror as she looked around the room, only moving when Miroku exerted a gentle pressure against her back. Quickly he shut the door behind them, locking it once again.

 

The walls were splattered with blood so there was at least as much red as white, if not more. There were wide sprays and thin arcs that looked as though they'd come out in quick spurts and reached all the way to the ceiling. There were bloody sheets, bloody rags, bloody water, and even a bloody smell to the air that made Sango sick to her stomach. Unthinking she reached out and grabbed Miroku's hand, clasping it in her own as a small comfort in the face of the evidence of such violence, hatred, and inhumanity. She had to peel her eyes away from the tableau to find her friend. Kagome was on her knees, scrubbing at the wall with an old rag, making little headway against the stains.

 

“I can't get it out,” she said brokenly into the silence, pausing in her scrubbing and falling back on her knees in a completely defeated way. “No matter what I do I can't get it clean.” This time there was no mistaking the tears in her voice and she wiped them on her shoulder, as it was one of the few dry places left on her that hadn't been splattered by cleaner or bloody water.

 

Sango was at a loss and Miroku spoke first. “There's no way that it will all come out.”

 

It was a testament to how far gone Kagome's thoughts were that she didn't question Miroku's presence with Sango. Instead she just shook her head. “I know, that's what the whitewash is for, but I can't just leave this all to simply be covered up, I just can't…”

 

“We know, Kagome,” she said, placing a hand on her friend's shoulder, “we'll help.” With that she grabbed one of the last few remaining clean rags and glanced despairingly at the dirtied water. “Miroku, do you think you could get us some more supplies? We'll need more water, rags, cleaner, and…” She trailed off, taking a meaningful look at the wet mattress. “Kagome, do you need more sheets or does he have spares?”

 

Kagome shrugged, having resumed her scrubbing. “Check the closet.”

 

They did and were horrified to realize that there were no clean sheets and that the hamper was overflowing with bloody linens. Miroku sighed. “I'll see what I can do,” he said, squeezing Sango's hand in encouragement. “Lock the door behind me - I'll be back when I can.”

 

Kagome barely took notice of his leaving as she moved to a new patch of wall. Sango wished there was something more she could do to comfort her friend but realized that helping here was the best thing she could do at the moment. Then, when she got back home, she was going to fight like hell to help Kagome get out of this situation. She didn't have to meet Inuyasha and take stock of his capacity to know that not he - nor anyone - deserved this treatment. The fact that it was a legal situation at the moment, or even if not legal that it wasn't illegal, galled her more than she could bear and she wondered how Kagome was able to cope with the injustices of the world and still retain such happiness most of the time.

 

Looking over at where the girl was hunched over, scrubbing the blood of someone she loved out of the narrow ridges in the drywall, Sango promised herself she would do everything in her power to fix this situation and rid the world of the capability to inflict such pain on any other hanyou lingering elsewhere in the world.

 

Miroku came back not too much later and, as good as his word, had as many supplies as they could ask for. He'd even managed a hairdryer to speed along the drying of the mattress. It didn't occur to Sango to ask how he'd done it, especially so quickly; she'd just trusted he could, and she took comfort in his return. The three of them scoured the room, getting as much of the stain out as they could before Kagome finally consented to allow them to use the whitewash to cover the remainder they couldn't clean off.

 

They were exhausted and sore and disgusting but they were done, and they took joy in that little bit at least. They all realized it was best for Sango and Miroku to be in the room for as little time as possible, so they'd leave less scent behind, so they left as soon as the last bit of whitewash was applied. They entreated Kagome to take a shower in Miroku's room, covered as she was in grime, sweat, and blood, but she refused, preferring rather to make her way directly over to see Inuyasha. They couldn't argue with that and, since Ryu had his own shower, saw no need to either. Miroku had offered to go with her to help bring Inuyasha back but she'd turned that down instantly. From what Sango had mentioned of Inuyasha's sense of dignity he wasn't surprised at the response but felt it was right to offer anyhow.

 

They parted with few words: a phone switch and hug between Sango and Kagome, a sympathetic smile and a squeeze of the hand between Kagome and Miroku. Kagome made her way sedately over to Ryu's, happy to see Inuyasha was asleep. She slipped into the shower once again, feeling slightly guilty as she got blood on even more of his towels. They were laid out for her though, as were some more clothes - she hadn't thought to bring some of her own clothes from her bag, so she assumed Ryu had put them there for her use.

 

A towel wrapped around her shoulders, she rubbed one end of it through her hair as she walked back into the bedroom and looked down at Inuyasha. He looked much better than he had when she'd first seen him and noticed his bandages didn't have as much blood on them as she'd expected. Ryu must have changed at least some of them during the night. She reached out and gently pushed his hair way from his face, happy to see he wasn't quite as pale. She was just going to touch his hand when the front door opened and she spun around.

 

Ryu entered then, looking nearly as tired as she did. She'd been planning to take Inuyasha back to his room right away but upon finding him sleeping she hadn't wanted to disturb him. Now that Ryu was back, though, she didn't want to steal his bed either. He forestalled her worries with a single statement. “I'm taking the couch, so don't consider moving him right now, all right?”

 

“But,” she hesitated, “I don't want to intrude…”

 

“You're not the one intruding, girl, Inuyasha is. And remember, I've known him longer than you and care for him just as much so don't you think you're putting me out, okay?” She peeked up from under her bangs and saw he looked just as strained and worried as she must. “Besides, it might be best if you're moving around during the middle of the day. Everyone else should be asleep by then so it's much less likely you'll bump into anyone.”

 

She couldn't argue with his logic and, her doubts finally quelled, she yawned and headed toward the bed as she bid Ryu a sleepy goodnight. She knelt next to it, gazed at Inuyasha's face, and slipped her hand into his. Within seconds she was asleep.

 

~ ~ ~

 

A/N: No, this isn't a new chapter. I chopped the mega-chapter that was 21 into two pieces to make the lengths more cohesive with the rest of the story.