Child's Haven
They say that the heart of a child is one of the purest things in the world, but many people take that for granted. They focus more on their faults, how immature they are, compared to them… and the older you are, the harder it is for you to understand how they think. Adults sometimes get to wrapped up in those faults that they can lose sight of just how precious children are, and they forget… that they were children once, too.
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"Aw crap! crap crap crap…"
Goku's complaining could probably be heard for miles, even without him trying to be noisy. It figured that the group of rowdy travelers would find themselves on a sliver of a ledge, trying to cross into the next town. The echo was only making it worse, for the more they talked, the slimmer the ledge seemed to be. Maybe that was just Sanzo's excuse for yelling at the chimp.
"Goku, for the last time, shut UP! Don't make me push you off of this thing!"
"I can't help it, Sanzo… Why don't you blame Hakkai for leading us this way!"
"Aha… I didn't mean it, honest!" The brunette sadly laughed to himself. "Who knew that there had been a rock slide some time ago? The villagers in the last town did tell us that nobody comes this way."
"Well, I guess we know WHY, don't we?" Gojyo grumbled. Koume, though, just kept silent. Come to think of it, she'd been silent the whole time, moving slightly slower than the rest and keeping still as a board.
"Hakkai, how much further is it until we reach the other side of the road?"
"I honestly don't know, Gojyo… it could be a hundred feet, or a mile or two!"
"A MILE? Oh, come ON…" Goku wailed again.
"Goku, this is no time to be acting childish! Grow up, will you?"
Finally, Koume started to take an interest in the conversation, and she turned her head to the others, trying to defend the smaller of their group.
"Don't be so hard on him, you guys… he can't help it! He still has a very young mind…"
"Young mind or no, he should be acting more grown up, given our situation! The last thing we need is a child." At this, Koume tilted her head. Sening eyes on him, Sanzo hesitantly turned his head to look at her innocent face.
"Why are you looking at me?"
"Well, personally… I wouldn't mind a child, sometime."
At this point in the conversation, nearly everyone lost their grip and nearly fell to their deaths. Sanzo's face was beet red now, and he tried his very hardest not to say a word.
"Um… Koume. You're practically still a child yourself. I'm not sure you know what you're saying."
Feeling slightly hurt, Koume turned her head away, too, and slowly yet silently, the group started moving again. As they walked along the only barely widening ledge, Koume and Sanzo both thought about that. …Well, Sanzo was trying to forget it, but still. After what seemed like an eternity under the burning sun, with their hands cut and stinging from trying to hold onto the rocks, Hakkai noticed a change in the Cliffside. His face brightened.
"Hey guys! I think we've found it!"
Sanzo leaned outward just a bit to look around his friend. Not ten feet from them was the road. It started out slim- too slim for the jeep- but wide enough that they could walk safely on. However, just next to it was a weak-looking part of rock. It didn't look completely stable.
"Finally, we're almost home free!"
"Yeah. We just have to get past a small problem area… if we're slow and careful, we could probably jump over it!"
"Uh, yeah, sure. You first, Hakkai." Goku stated in a sarcastic tone.
But, it seemed Hakkai took it seriously, and once he neared the weak spot, he jumped. Koume's heart nearly jumped out of her chest, but seeing as he landed safely on the other side, she instantly felt relieved. But they weren't all out of the woods yet. Sanzo was next to reach the spot, sliding across it, instead of jumping, then the other boys followed suit. As they passed it, Koume could not help but notice that small pieces of stone were starting to break free, and she stopped dead. Hakkai looked over at her, frozen in place and gripping the side of the cliff tightly.
"Koume? What's wrong?"
"I…probably should have mentioned this a little sooner, but… heights aren't really my thing…" Koume gulped rather loudly and tried her best to keep her gaze out front, instead of downward or at the others. Sanzo honestly thought that acrophobia was a ridiculous fear, but for her sake, he didn't say so out loud. He watches Koume, just sitting out there, risking her life rather than getting over her fears and joining them, but he really did care, and so he stuck close to the cliff wall and stood at the edge.
"Koume."
"…"
"Koume, look at me."
She still didn't respond, trying too hard to stay balanced, but Sanzo kept saying her name, letting his tone become somewhat soft. Slowly but surely, she finally turned her head his way, and when their eyes met, she couldn't look away.
"Koume, you need…… to stop messing around and get over here." Being soft on her all the time wasn't the way to keep her in line. He had to keep reminding himself of this.
"Genjyo… I can't do this."
"You don't have a choice. Do you plan on staying out there forever?"
"But…"
"Don't worry." This time, there was such softness in his voice, the others weren't sure he'd spoken at all, but he held out his hand, nonetheless. "Just slowly come this way, and take my hand."
The offer was kind, but still, Koume was reluctant. She could try to avoid admitting that he was right about her position, but his eyes… she couldn't ignore those determined, glowing orbs of his. So she looked only into his eyes as she hesitantly forced her stiff body to move, gaining only an inch at a time. Goku and the others held their heads high and gave encouragement to her as she started to get closer, but Sanzo held his breath as she reached the weak ledge. At first, she stopped altogether and tried to lean over to grab his hand, but her arms were just not long enough. Then, she tried to inch over some more. She was shaking.
"That's it, Koume. Just a little further."
"You can do it, Koume!"
"Just take it slow!"
"Shut up, you guys! She needs to concentrate…" Sanzo only looked back for a minute, and when he returned his gaze to Koume, she'd stopped again, clenching her eyes tightly.
"Koume, don't stop, you're so close now!"
"I-I can't…"
"Stop saying that! Just look at me and take my hand!"
Once again, the intensity in his voice brought her eyes back to his, and she took a breath. But she'd waited too long. Just as their fingers touched, the cliff below her feet gave way. They all watched in horror as she slowly slipped away from them. Sanzo tried to grab her hand, but he just couldn't. before they knew it, she'd disappeared from sight; the sound of her scream no longer audible.
"Koume!"