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Kyoshi's entire body felt weak and her head was pounding. A sharp pain stabbed through her stomach, making her shiver involuntarily. She tried to sit up, but her body protested weakly. "Damn," she groaned, sinking back on the bed.
Kyoshi had been sick for the past day and a half. Her body wracked with horrible aches all night, she had attempted to suppress them and stay far away from Rangi so she wouldn’t worry. Eventually, she had found out and scolded Kyoshi for hiding it for so long, that was before Kyoshi had thrown up, heaving over the bucket as Rangi held her hair back.
Now she was lying delirious with a high fever. Kyoshi tried so hard to stay awake because anytime she closed her eyes she would remember. Remember each time she was sick and practically dying of the streets of Yokoya. Remember when she was bed ridden after the duel with xu ping a when he had stuck her over six times with lightning, registering her fingertips and palms mostly scar tissue. Her chain mail, although protecting her, caused burns on her back, so a burn on her back that morphed into lightning on her back. Rangi had told kyoshi that if one more of lightning had hit her spine she would’ve died, and that most of her healing had went into making sure her spine stayed intact and her hands functioned at least somewhat normally.
These memories had plagued her mind any time she closed her eyes.
Now she was lying half-asleep in her and Rangi’s bed, shivering uncontrollably, burning and freezing from the inside out. Kyoshi’s eyes here hazy half filled with exhaustion and the utter need to sleep and the other half of is the sheer determination to stay awake.
Rangi had walked in and helped Kyoshi up to help her sip on the medicine, hoping that her love would hopefully have relief from her horrible illness. Kyoshi laid down again as she went into another coughing fit. "Hey, you with me, love?" Rangi asked softly as she stroked her girlfriend's hair. Kyoshi groaned weakly, her expression distant and glazed. Rangi's heart ached at the sight. She had seen Kyoshi sick before, but never to this extent.
“I’m here…” Kyoshi had muttered so weakly Rangi had barely heard it.
Kyoshi was practically burning to the touch, shaking and shivering. She had slightly formed a sense of clarity. Somehow through the pain the illness was causing she managed to actually muster enough strength to say “I’m here”. Rangi's hand lingered on Kyoshi's forehead, feeling the heat radiating from her skin. "You're burning up," she murmured, her voice tinged with concern.
Kyoshi's eyes fluttered open, trying to focus on Rangi's face. "So tired," she mumbled hoarsely, her voice heavy with fatigue. "Everything hurts." She whimpered out as she shook again.
“You need to eat something.” Rangi said running her hands through Kyoshi’s hair again.
Kyoshi winced when Rangi mentioned “food.” The thought of food. Made Kyoshi nauseous and made her want to throw up but she forced herself to speak “not hungry.” She managed to gasp out. Rangi sighed softly, understanding Kyoshi's reluctance to eat. She knew her girlfriend well enough to know that forcing anything on her would only make her more stubborn. Instead, she decided to focus on something easier - getting some liquids into Kyoshi's system.She poured a small glass of water from a pitcher on the nightstand and held it up to Kyoshi's lips. "Just a few sips, love."
Kyoshi grimaced when she looked at the glass of water, but Rangi was right. She was dehydrated and knew that she needed to drink something, no matter how much she disliked the idea. She opened her mouth obediently, letting Rangi guide the rim of the glass against her lips.
The lukewarm tasteless water rolled down her throat, it felt like knives piercing her entire mouth. She forced herself to take atleast a few sips before the pain became to much to bare. Her mind clouded with dizziness.
Kyoshi suddenly felt exhaustion take over, her fever-dazed state combined with the pain and even the effort of lifting her head was overwhelming. Her eyes flutter shut weakly as she fell asleep, her breathing slow and shallow. Rangi out the glass of water on the bedside table, she joined her love in the bed pulling her close.
Kyoshi’s fevered mind was now making her re-live her days when she was sick on the street as an orphan. The memory rolled out when she was in a dark alleyway, burn8ng and freezing from the inside out. Kyoshi was tossing and turning under the thin, torn blanket. Her body was covered in a thin sheen of sweat, her face flushed with fever. Every muscle in her body ached, and her thoughts were clouded with pain and confusion.
She was lying in an abandoned alley, huddled against the hard concrete wall, her thin frame shivering violently. She had used the last of her strength to vomit up what little contents she had in her stomach. At some point she wasn’t even giving up bile or stomach acid, she was just dry heaving. Eventually Kyoshi had fallen asleep as she weakly mumbled out how she wanted someone to hold her u til she fell asleep.
The memory had finished playing out, that was before another one started. What was it this time? Oh right. This time it was her biggest injury, the lightning.
Kyoshi lay on the bed, her face pale and her body shaking uncontrollably. She was covered in thick layers of bandages, her body hidden underneath the heavy blankets. The pain was excruciating, like bolts of lightning shooting through her body, over and over again. The flying opera company in the main room. Rangi as-well. But Wong was there, he went out to get Kirima who was asleep in the big room. When Kyoshi looked at Kirima, she wore a worried and unsure face as she water bent the water from the basin, placing the cool cold water on Kyoshi’s hands. She knew that Kyoshi was in a lot of pain, the faint tremors beneath the blankets a clear sign of her suffering. She leaned over, gingerly reaching for Kyoshi's hand, covered in bandages.
Kirima took Kyoshi's trembling hand gingerly in her own, being careful not to jostle the fragile fingers. With a focused yet gentle touch, she began to heal the damaged tissue beneath the bandages. She attempted to heal the damaged nerves but that was far too advanced for her to do. But at-least she stopped some of the trembling in Kyoshi’s hands.
The bittersweet memory ended as she awoke with a jolt. She took in the familiar scent and a pair of strong arms holding her, Rangi was cradling her in her arms looking down at her as Kyoshi shook.
Kyoshi held back tears as she let out panicked breaths. Rangi immediately went to comfort her.
“Hey, hey it’s love. Breathe. It was just a nightmare.” Rangi said. The gentle voice comforting her.
Rangi held Kyoshi close, her arms wrapped gently around her girlfriend's trembling form. She could feel the heat of the fever radiating from her, the sweat dampening Rangi's shirt. She ran her fingers through Kyoshi’s damp hair, whispering soothing words to Kyoshi as she sobbed. Eventually calming down Kyoshi and Rangi fell into a comforting silence. They fell asleep in each others arms.