Disclaimer: This isn't my sandbox, I'm just playing in it for a while.

Notes: I stole these prompts. You hear me? I stole them like the dirty thief that I am. This is the 7th prompt (a perfect moment) from the Eta List at 30kisses on LJ, and I haven't properly signed up for a challenge there, I stole the list because I needed something to get my creativity going.

This chapter contains character death.

I am breaking my own rule (and adjusting the summary accordingly) - this has no pairings. I have fourteen lists to choose from, and none of the 7th prompts (another rule of mine, going in numerical order if it is across lists) sparked anything, no matter what pairing I chose. So, in the interest of progress - I give you chapter seven.


Yuusuke was falling.

He wasn't quite sure why, or how, all he knew was that there was wind whipping past him at an alarming rate and his head was throbbing.

Musta got hit, he thought woozily, reaching up to massage the offending lump on his forehead. Ow. Musta got hit hard. Sure is taking a long time to reach the bottom. He tried to look behind/below him, at his eventual destination, but discovered that twisting your head around like that isn't as easy when your shoulders have nothing to push on. So he shrugged and fell for a while.

Slowly, the details came back. They - he and his team, though when they became his team, he wasn't quite sure, they were just "the team" and that was all there was to it - they were fighting this big ugly demon thing. Emphasis on the ugly. Extra emphasis on the big. Kuwabara was swinging for its head when one big, ugly purple arm came around and slammed into Yuusuke. And then there was this.

Maybe we should stop fighting on cliffs, Yuusuke mused. His head was throbbing something awful. He quietly made plans to turn up a bottle of asprin and drink it when he got home.

He'd had the terror moments before. The horror-stricken, oh shit I think he's really gonna this time, staring wide-eyed for a split second before it was all going entirely too fast moments. Botan had once accused him (her eyes full of tears and her oar in smacking position) of being addicted to them. Which was entirely untrue - he didn't trust his luck that far. But something about that moment did feel good. Somehow. There was an accord reached, a pact made in the split second of eye contact shock afforded. You were going down, and your friends would make sure it was worth something. Though as the power gap grew between him and his friends, Yuusuke often worried if they'd be able to survive him being taken out. Then he verbally smacked himself - if nothing else, they'd get through on sheer stubborn meaness. Like when Sensui killed me. They held their own pretty well until I could get away from Koenma's babysitters.

He did worry about Keiko, though. She was a big girl now, he knew that, but she still wasn't a fighter. Not in the way that would keep her safe, anyway. That's what Kuwabara's for. At least, it had better be. Hell, she got along on her own while we were off killing things with our bare hands, hopefully Enki can keep these fuckers in check and away from her.

Damn, but his head was hurting. And not that I'm in a rush or anything, but am I gonna reach the bottom anyti-

He was cut off as a small shelf of rock caught him squarely in the small of the back. It shattered under the impact, and he rolled in mid-air, facing the ground. Which, he could now see, was growing quite close quite quickly.

Well, he thought.

Suddenly, he was thankful that at least there were no fish involved.

xxxxxxx

"Sir?"

"What?"

"Sir, Urameshi to see you." George retreated swiftly. Yuusuke supposed he looked like something that needed running from.

"Yes?" Koenma said impatiently, all but glaring up at Yuusuke. "Was there something you needed, Yuusuke? If not, get out, I'm busy." He returned to stamping papers with the care and discretion of an annoyed chimpanzee.

"I have," Yuusuke said quietly, "one hell of a headache."