Disclaimer: I don't own Yuu Yuu Hakusho. If I did, then… well… I would. But I don't.
So I, er, don't. There you have it. *shrugs*
Arigatou to Saelbu and Shadow Fox777 for reviewing! Yay – my first reviews
ever. ^_^
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Chapter 1:
He woke slowly, still freezing and tired, reluctant to enter full consciousness.
Some small, nagging part of his mind insisted that this was wrong, that he ought to
snap easily awake without all this foolish lagging, but he wasn't awake enough to
pay it much attention.
Eventually his eyes opened.
Snow.
That about summed it up. He looked up. Hm, and trees as well. Bare,
leafless trees, many of their branches encased in ice. The branches were so close
and thick and tangled in most places that the treetops could not be seen, but in any
case the tops were far, far overhead. The forest floor was only very dimly lit. He
currently sat in a small patch of real sunlight, filtered through small gaps in the
tangled roof above, but the light was weak and cold, and he saw no other such
patches of more than a few centimeters across.
Trees. And snow. Lots of snow.
The question "Where the hell am I?" presented itself to his still sleep-fogged
mind. He didn't remember coming here. The last thing he remembered, he was….
…
...Somewhere. Not here. …Someplace… he couldn't remember.
He couldn't remember.
The memory was there, he was sure of it, but it flickered on the edges of his
consciousness like shadows seen on the edges of his vision, and when he looked
for it there was nothing but cloudy emptiness.
He became aware that his teeth were chattering. That was wrong, too. He
shouldn't be so cold, though he didn't know why. If he sat still much longer he'd
freeze. He shifted position with some difficulty; his limbs were at once numb and
stinging from the cold. Slowly, he managed to stand up, leaning with one hand
against the tree under which he'd been sitting. He held his hands up to his face to
breathe hot air on them, then shoved them into his cloak. Have to move. Stay
warmer….
There were no visible signs of life anywhere, but off to his left and right ran a
shallow depression in the ground, about a meter across. It wound off through the
trees as far as he could see in either direction. He shrugged slightly. It would give
him a path to follow for some way; there seemed little better to do. If someone…
who?... was by some chance searching for him, at least there would be footprints in
the snow….
No. There won't be anyone. He was suddenly sure of that, too. Nobody.
...Ever...?
Wait. Footprints? He looked around, and blinked. There were none.
Covered over…? The snow was crusted over with a thin layer of ice, and did not
look too freshly fallen. How did I get here….
He stared at the snow, lost in thought, then shook his head sharply, suddenly
aware that his eyes were trying to droop shut. No. Later. Have to move now…. He
turned and with some effort began to trudge down the might-have-been-pathway to
his left.
The path wound its way on interminably, under trees that all looked alike. More
than once he found his eyes drifting closed as he stumbled along, and had to shake
himself awake. Every now and again he paused to glance back in the direction from
which he'd come; however he had arrived at the spot where he had woken, he was
definitely leaving footprints now. The icy crust on the snow was just thick enough to
hold up until he'd put nearly all of his weight into each step, at which point it was
inevitably just thin enough to break and send his foot crashing some way into the
softer snow beneath, further freezing his feet as well as causing him to lose his
balance. Fortunately he didn't usually sink too far, but the edges of the broken ice
were jagged and sharp and tended to stab into his ankles. All in all, enjoyable it was
not.
After an interminable length of time, the trees suddenly gave way into a circular
clearing. He looked up in surprise, having long since given up on looking any distance
ahead to instead focus on simply putting one foot in front of the other.
The light in the clearing was still wan and pale, but it was brighter than the dim-lit
forest, and its reflection off the snow seemed blinding by comparison. He staggered
forward, blinking his tired eyes in an attempt to adjust to the light. Once his vision had
cleared, he found the sun somewhat refreshing, meager though it was, and his mind
began to clear ever so slightly as well. Even the small amount of warmth was welcome.
The path he had followed this far had faded away along with the trees, and he
frowned. Now where? He began to pace about the edge of the clearing, peering
through the trees for any sign of a further trail. Occasionally he stopped to jump up and
down or stomp his feet in an effort to keep them from going entirely numb. Eventually he
found himself back where he had begun, and his shoulders sagged; there was no more
trail that he could see, and the woods around looked very thick. The brief surge of
energy that the discovery of the clearing and sunlight had given him began to fade,
leaving him wearier than before.
…I'll just rest for a minute…. He dropped to the ground and closed his eyes.
And then a soft, tentative, female voice spoke.
"A… a – are you lost?"
He didn't open his eyes at first, too tired to really wonder where the voice was
coming from. No. I'm freezing to death in the middle of nowhere because I want to,
damnit. He attempted to say something to this effect, but his face was stiff and rather
numb, making speech difficult, so he settled for a quiet, almost resigned "Hn."
The voice became surprised, and worried. "Oh! You are awake. I… a…
are you all right? You're shivering. Oh… you're too cold, aren't you?"
No. Really. It hadn't occurred to me. Who the hell was this idiot?
…Though some part of his brain thought it knew the voice from somewhere.
"Th – there's a place, not too far away. I can help you get there. It's – it'll be
warmer…."
He felt a hand on his arm, and finally opened his eyes, but shook the hand
off and struggled to his feet on his own. Then he looked at his… would-be rescuer,
he supposed.
A young girl, about his height, dressed in a pale blue kimono, with long
blue hair. Bright, sparkling red eyes. He blinked. She was barefoot, and gave
no indication that the cold bothered her at all.
She gave him a bright smile, and looked at him curiously. "…Who are you?"
He opened his mouth to answer, and then stopped suddenly in confusion,
staring at her blankly.
…Oh.
That's a good question….
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A/N: Well, he's awake. …A little out of it, granted, but hey, it's a start. Reviews are
welcome. ^_^