One Bright Day in the Middle of the Night

Chapter 48: Seeking a Cure

Shingen lay down on the futon, his breathing heavy. Heat radiated off his body like a furnace, and I knew we had to get his temperature down if we could. A wave of depression and helplessness hit me like a tsunami as I quickly realized the reality of such an impossible situation. Modern antibiotics won't even be invented for another 350 years or so, and Tylenol? Hell, I don't even remember if I have any in my purse back in Azuchi. It wouldn't be enough anyway.

"Hey Yukimura? Can you get me a bunch of cushions, some cold water, and a rag please? I want to prop Shingen up a little bit with cushions. It'll make his breathing easier."

"You got it."

I watched as Yukimura turned to leave, and for some reason the hanging scroll on the wall behind him caught my attention. It was beautifully done, a tree alongside the banks of a river, long graceful limbs with thin leaves draping across the paper. A light bulb went on in my head.

"Wait!" Yukimura turned around looking at me with a question in his eyes. "The tree in the picture....are there any that look like that around here? Growing near water?"

"I think there might be a couple by the outer moat of the castle..."

I breathed a huge sigh of relief. Willow trees, the whole Salix species as a whole, have been used for centuries in medicine with primary component of willow bark being salicylic acid, the main ingredient in aspirin. I even did an experiment and report for a chemistry final that involved extracting the salicin from the willow. Thank God for a good memory...

"Once we get Shingen settled, I need you to take me to those trees. If it's what I hope they are, and that's a big 'what if', I might be able to make medicine for Shingen that will bring down his fever."

Yukimura's eyes widened as he nodded and rushed from the room to get the things I had asked for, and I moved to sit beside Shingen to wait. Not much else to do other than try to scour the depths of my memory to try to remember anything about what to use as an antibiotic. I was pulled from my thoughts by a cough from Shingen, his eyes studying me in a way that would have been uncomfortable if I didn't know better.

"What?" I frowned, instantly wondering about the considering look I was getting from the Warlord.

"You know, I haven't been able to find out any information about you." Shingen spoke, his voice quieter than usual, and I didn't think it was because of his illness. "I remember you from the cliffs outside of Honno-ji, even if Kenshin doesn't."

I couldn't help the slight thrill of anxiety that coursed down my spine. There was no way he'd find out much of anything, but the idea that I have been researched didn't sit well.

"And?"

"And nothing, that's the problem." Shingen frowned, looking up at me as if he had never been in the situation of not knowing something before. For all I know this might actually be a first for him. "My information network is vast, and I have been able to find no information at all about you prior to that night. It's as if you didn't exist...."

I smirked a little, knowing for a fact that he never will, and it looks like it will drive him a little crazy because of it.

"Maybe it's because I actually am a ghost." I threw back the words he had said to me on the cliffs of Honno-ji.

"Not only beautiful but a good memory as well." Shingen smiled a bit, his face still pale. I felt the need to try to allay his concerns, if nothing else, as I looked down at him.

"You don't need to worry about me Shingen. While I understand the need to know everything about the people around you, I have no intentions of harming anyone without a very good reason to do so. On top of that, I consider both you and Yukimura to be friends of mine. If there is anything you really want to know, I'll answer any questions you have."