Oh my gosh!! I am sooooo sorry to have taken so long in updating this
fic, but I was busy starting another one and I hope you will all go and
read it too. Just so that you all know, this fic is in no way connected to
my first one, GWD; I just used the same name for my OC in both stories
(sorry!) Well, Sora has slain the wolves, and the ice is crackin' apart!
What fate awaits them? Well, read and find out!
Chapter 8,
Hidden Passages
The ice cracked and splintered beneath them and the horses reared up in panic.
Sora: Get as close to the walls as you can and try to climb them!
Kaoru: What about the horses?
Sora: I'll get them, just go!
But Sora knew that the horses would never make it up the steep ravine walls. Still, even if it meant drowning in the freezing water, she would not leave her friends. As more of the ice began to shatter it slowly spread apart. Kenshin and the others hadn't even made it to the wall before the ice broke away from the wall. Suddenly, a sheet of ice shattered and fell away from the wall behind Kira. There was the cave!
Sora: Oh no! You guys get back here fast!
Her friends turned back towards her and were almost there. Sora had turned the horses around and forced them to jump for it. Both animals landed smoothly in the mouth of the cave, but the force of them kicking off of the ice shattered the piece that Sora stood on, and so she fell under!
Megumi: Quick! Get her out of the water!
But before any of the others could make a move Sanakoo turned and dove into the water after his mistress. His white and red form disappeared beneath the ice, and more blocks moved in over top of him.
Kenshin: We have to keep the ice open, or they will drown!
The others worked furiously, but Kira knew there was only one way to move such large chunks of ice. She stood up and dashed back out with the others and reared up, bringing her large hooves down on the ice.........it shattered completely beneath her weight. She pulled away fast enough though to keep from falling into the water. Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko had been forced to go into the cave and wait. But they still searched for Sora and Sanakoo beneath the water. A ways down from them, almost at the end of the ravine, Sanakoo's head and front hooves smashed through the thinner ice, and he tried desperately to get a hold on the slippery surface. The boys ran over to him, and hauled on his wet mane. The ice began to crack beneath their feet though, and so they could only watch as the stallion floundered about in the water. Suddenly, a knife shot up through the ice right next to Kenshin's foot! As they turned to look at the blade, they realized that it was Sora beneath the ice! Kenshin and Sano worked furiously to crack the ice open for her to breathe, but to no avail. Sora was running out of air, and the current of the stream was pushing her under father and farther! Finally Kenshin remembered his sword, and moving swiftly he sliced away at the ice, cutting a small whole in it. They were able to lift Sora's gasping form up onto the ice, but she pushed them away from her and crawled over to where Sanakoo was still struggling in the water. She pulled his head close to her face, and calmed him as she whispered into his ear. Suddenly, the horse braced his hooves against the rim of the ice around him, and gave one hard kick, and to everyone's surprise, he shot himself right out of the water!
Sano: Whoa! How did you get him to do that?
Sora: (coughing and spluttering water) Only that if he let himself sit in there that he would freeze so badly that he would legally no longer be able to be considered a stallion, but a gelding (neutered horse)!
Sano: Wow, harsh, but then again if you had told me that I probably would've reacted the same way!
The boys quickly made their way back to the cave, leaping from ice block, to ice block, carefully guiding the weakened girl and horse. Once there they threw a couple extra blankets around Sora and got out the map.
Sora: (who was still freezing, but not too badly, on account of the fact that she really wasn't in the water too long) I seriously think that I'm endangering my health by hanging around with you guys! See, we're half way there, now we just have to make it through this cave.
Megumi: Something tells me that, that will be easier said than done!
Sora: And you are absolutely correct, but none the less it must be done.
They all stood and got ready to leave; Sora was a bit stiff though since the water on her clothing was beginning to freeze.
Megumi: You've got to change out of those clothes or you could catch hypothermia.
Sora: I already have caught it, but I should be all right. I'm a tough girl after all!
The cave was lined with sharp, towering rocks, and small pools of water rippled off to the sides as the group advanced into the cave. Sora: Wow it's cold in here.
Megumi: You really should get out of those wet clothes.
Sora: And change into what? All my other clothes are soaked too!
Kaoru: Well then you can wear some of mine! We're about the same size anyway.
Sora: Thanks a bunch!
And so she quickly ducked behind a rock wall and threw on the fresh outfit. Sanakoo himself was beginning to form a frosty glaze over his fur from the water, and he shivered visibly. Kira pressed closer to him in an attempt to keep him warm, but it did little good.
Sora: (now in a new gi) I need to dry up the water on his fur or he will freeze to death!
With that she began to scoop up snow and rub it all over his large body. The snow dried up the rest of the water and got his blood pumping again so as to warm him up. Then Sora made him run about the cave for a few minutes until she was sure he would be fine, then they moved on. The air started to warm up, and the snow around the cave began to melt. They were obviously leaving the mountain now, but there was barely any light in the cave, and everyone had to link hands in order to keep together. Megumi, who was not a big fan of the dark, pressed closely against Sano's side and gripped his hand harder.
Sano: What's wrong?
Megumi: N-nothing, I was just starting to slip a little.
Finally a light became visible up ahead.
Yahiko: Hey! There's the exit!! Come on let's go.
The young boy raced ahead, excitedly racing towards the small light at the end of the tunnel.
Sora: Wait; we don't know what's out there! Yahiko stop!
But her words fell only over his deaf ears, as he happily moved towards the light. Sora moved to chase after him, but Kenshin grabbed her long braid and hauled her to a stop.
Sora: What are you doing!?!
Kenshin: Let him go, he'll be fine..........
Sora: No, you don't understand, at the end of the cave,
But before she could finish her sentence a cry of pain sent a chill down all of their spines!
Everyone: Yahiko!
Sora knew the mountains well, and she knew of the many snow leopards that hid around small cave outlets such as this one. Apparently Yahiko had met them face-to-face, for his shouts could be heard echoing throughout the cave.
Sora: We're coming Yahiko hold on!
As she ran towards the sounds of the fray she drew her bow, ready if necessary, to take more lives in an attempt to defend the ones she loved. As they came out into the sunlight they saw the horrid scene in front of them. There on the ground was Yahiko, a giant male leopard standing over him, blood staining his face! But leopards never hunted alone, and as the others came out of the caves, 8 more cats jumped down on top of them! Sora and all of the others were knocked to the ground by the ferocious felines. Again it was going to be up to Sanakoo and Kira to help out their friends. Dodging the cats that came down after them, Sanakoo and Kira charged into the pride, flailing and kicking their powerful legs. The cats hissed and snarled at the large animals, but the horses could only keep them at bay for so long. Finally, one of the cats gathered up his courage and leapt at the stallion. The animal's claws hooked mercilessly into the horse's hindquarters, and Sanakoo let out something between a high-pitched whinny and a snarl, clearly voicing his displeasure. Three more cats then leapt upon Kira; one snapping at her hooves, one clinging to her flanks, and one had jumped onto her shoulders, chomping at her throat! At least they had accomplished what they needed to, and that was diverting the attention of the cats away from Yahiko and the others. Now all of the cats were riveted on the horses, now that they knew where all the large meat was, plus the scent of the horses' blood was quite instigative to the animals. The sheer weight of the cats caused Kira's legs to buckle and she rolled down the grassy hill. Sora was now back on her feet and turned just in time to see Kira fall, but Sanakoo was still fighting. Kira was lucky, for as she fell she had rolled over on 2 of the felines, completely crushing them! But several others followed closely behind the sliding animal and leapt upon her upturned body as soon as she came to a stop. All Kira could do now was thrashing about under the weight of the predators, and trying to kick them off, but her strength was fading fast, and pain was causing her world to fade away! Megumi had reached Yahiko and was surveying his wounds when one of the smaller cats turned away from the main fray and went for the easier pray! This female cat leapt upon Megumi, sinking her fangs deep into the woman's side as she did so. But this time there was no one to come to Megumi's aid, for they were all busy either fighting off more leopards, or trying to get them off of the horses. The cat continued to slash and rip away at Megumi's flesh wherever it could find some.
Suddenly, the animal flew forward over Megumi. There behind it stood Sanosuke, his fist covered in blood from where he had made contact with the animal's shoulder. Megumi's world also began fading away, the last thing she saw was Sano wrestling about with the leopard.
A/N: You are all probably wondering where Sora is with that bow right about now, well just so that you all know, she had been knocked to the ground by one of the cats, but was able to beat it over the head with a rock and nock it out. Her bow however had come unstrung and so she had to stop and fix it.
Finally, after fixing her bow, Sora looked around her, taking stock of the situation. Kenshin was back to back with Kaoru, fighting off the cats, the horses of course were fighting on their own, Yahiko was senseless on the ground and Sano and Megumi were fighting for their lives over by Yahiko.
Poor, poor heroes, what will they do now? The doctor is unconscious; we do not yet know what Yahiko's condition is, and the others are all currently fighting for their lives. I can be very cruel with my cliffhangers, and this happens to be one of them! Well please review! Until next time!
Chapter 8,
Hidden Passages
The ice cracked and splintered beneath them and the horses reared up in panic.
Sora: Get as close to the walls as you can and try to climb them!
Kaoru: What about the horses?
Sora: I'll get them, just go!
But Sora knew that the horses would never make it up the steep ravine walls. Still, even if it meant drowning in the freezing water, she would not leave her friends. As more of the ice began to shatter it slowly spread apart. Kenshin and the others hadn't even made it to the wall before the ice broke away from the wall. Suddenly, a sheet of ice shattered and fell away from the wall behind Kira. There was the cave!
Sora: Oh no! You guys get back here fast!
Her friends turned back towards her and were almost there. Sora had turned the horses around and forced them to jump for it. Both animals landed smoothly in the mouth of the cave, but the force of them kicking off of the ice shattered the piece that Sora stood on, and so she fell under!
Megumi: Quick! Get her out of the water!
But before any of the others could make a move Sanakoo turned and dove into the water after his mistress. His white and red form disappeared beneath the ice, and more blocks moved in over top of him.
Kenshin: We have to keep the ice open, or they will drown!
The others worked furiously, but Kira knew there was only one way to move such large chunks of ice. She stood up and dashed back out with the others and reared up, bringing her large hooves down on the ice.........it shattered completely beneath her weight. She pulled away fast enough though to keep from falling into the water. Kaoru, Megumi, and Yahiko had been forced to go into the cave and wait. But they still searched for Sora and Sanakoo beneath the water. A ways down from them, almost at the end of the ravine, Sanakoo's head and front hooves smashed through the thinner ice, and he tried desperately to get a hold on the slippery surface. The boys ran over to him, and hauled on his wet mane. The ice began to crack beneath their feet though, and so they could only watch as the stallion floundered about in the water. Suddenly, a knife shot up through the ice right next to Kenshin's foot! As they turned to look at the blade, they realized that it was Sora beneath the ice! Kenshin and Sano worked furiously to crack the ice open for her to breathe, but to no avail. Sora was running out of air, and the current of the stream was pushing her under father and farther! Finally Kenshin remembered his sword, and moving swiftly he sliced away at the ice, cutting a small whole in it. They were able to lift Sora's gasping form up onto the ice, but she pushed them away from her and crawled over to where Sanakoo was still struggling in the water. She pulled his head close to her face, and calmed him as she whispered into his ear. Suddenly, the horse braced his hooves against the rim of the ice around him, and gave one hard kick, and to everyone's surprise, he shot himself right out of the water!
Sano: Whoa! How did you get him to do that?
Sora: (coughing and spluttering water) Only that if he let himself sit in there that he would freeze so badly that he would legally no longer be able to be considered a stallion, but a gelding (neutered horse)!
Sano: Wow, harsh, but then again if you had told me that I probably would've reacted the same way!
The boys quickly made their way back to the cave, leaping from ice block, to ice block, carefully guiding the weakened girl and horse. Once there they threw a couple extra blankets around Sora and got out the map.
Sora: (who was still freezing, but not too badly, on account of the fact that she really wasn't in the water too long) I seriously think that I'm endangering my health by hanging around with you guys! See, we're half way there, now we just have to make it through this cave.
Megumi: Something tells me that, that will be easier said than done!
Sora: And you are absolutely correct, but none the less it must be done.
They all stood and got ready to leave; Sora was a bit stiff though since the water on her clothing was beginning to freeze.
Megumi: You've got to change out of those clothes or you could catch hypothermia.
Sora: I already have caught it, but I should be all right. I'm a tough girl after all!
The cave was lined with sharp, towering rocks, and small pools of water rippled off to the sides as the group advanced into the cave. Sora: Wow it's cold in here.
Megumi: You really should get out of those wet clothes.
Sora: And change into what? All my other clothes are soaked too!
Kaoru: Well then you can wear some of mine! We're about the same size anyway.
Sora: Thanks a bunch!
And so she quickly ducked behind a rock wall and threw on the fresh outfit. Sanakoo himself was beginning to form a frosty glaze over his fur from the water, and he shivered visibly. Kira pressed closer to him in an attempt to keep him warm, but it did little good.
Sora: (now in a new gi) I need to dry up the water on his fur or he will freeze to death!
With that she began to scoop up snow and rub it all over his large body. The snow dried up the rest of the water and got his blood pumping again so as to warm him up. Then Sora made him run about the cave for a few minutes until she was sure he would be fine, then they moved on. The air started to warm up, and the snow around the cave began to melt. They were obviously leaving the mountain now, but there was barely any light in the cave, and everyone had to link hands in order to keep together. Megumi, who was not a big fan of the dark, pressed closely against Sano's side and gripped his hand harder.
Sano: What's wrong?
Megumi: N-nothing, I was just starting to slip a little.
Finally a light became visible up ahead.
Yahiko: Hey! There's the exit!! Come on let's go.
The young boy raced ahead, excitedly racing towards the small light at the end of the tunnel.
Sora: Wait; we don't know what's out there! Yahiko stop!
But her words fell only over his deaf ears, as he happily moved towards the light. Sora moved to chase after him, but Kenshin grabbed her long braid and hauled her to a stop.
Sora: What are you doing!?!
Kenshin: Let him go, he'll be fine..........
Sora: No, you don't understand, at the end of the cave,
But before she could finish her sentence a cry of pain sent a chill down all of their spines!
Everyone: Yahiko!
Sora knew the mountains well, and she knew of the many snow leopards that hid around small cave outlets such as this one. Apparently Yahiko had met them face-to-face, for his shouts could be heard echoing throughout the cave.
Sora: We're coming Yahiko hold on!
As she ran towards the sounds of the fray she drew her bow, ready if necessary, to take more lives in an attempt to defend the ones she loved. As they came out into the sunlight they saw the horrid scene in front of them. There on the ground was Yahiko, a giant male leopard standing over him, blood staining his face! But leopards never hunted alone, and as the others came out of the caves, 8 more cats jumped down on top of them! Sora and all of the others were knocked to the ground by the ferocious felines. Again it was going to be up to Sanakoo and Kira to help out their friends. Dodging the cats that came down after them, Sanakoo and Kira charged into the pride, flailing and kicking their powerful legs. The cats hissed and snarled at the large animals, but the horses could only keep them at bay for so long. Finally, one of the cats gathered up his courage and leapt at the stallion. The animal's claws hooked mercilessly into the horse's hindquarters, and Sanakoo let out something between a high-pitched whinny and a snarl, clearly voicing his displeasure. Three more cats then leapt upon Kira; one snapping at her hooves, one clinging to her flanks, and one had jumped onto her shoulders, chomping at her throat! At least they had accomplished what they needed to, and that was diverting the attention of the cats away from Yahiko and the others. Now all of the cats were riveted on the horses, now that they knew where all the large meat was, plus the scent of the horses' blood was quite instigative to the animals. The sheer weight of the cats caused Kira's legs to buckle and she rolled down the grassy hill. Sora was now back on her feet and turned just in time to see Kira fall, but Sanakoo was still fighting. Kira was lucky, for as she fell she had rolled over on 2 of the felines, completely crushing them! But several others followed closely behind the sliding animal and leapt upon her upturned body as soon as she came to a stop. All Kira could do now was thrashing about under the weight of the predators, and trying to kick them off, but her strength was fading fast, and pain was causing her world to fade away! Megumi had reached Yahiko and was surveying his wounds when one of the smaller cats turned away from the main fray and went for the easier pray! This female cat leapt upon Megumi, sinking her fangs deep into the woman's side as she did so. But this time there was no one to come to Megumi's aid, for they were all busy either fighting off more leopards, or trying to get them off of the horses. The cat continued to slash and rip away at Megumi's flesh wherever it could find some.
Suddenly, the animal flew forward over Megumi. There behind it stood Sanosuke, his fist covered in blood from where he had made contact with the animal's shoulder. Megumi's world also began fading away, the last thing she saw was Sano wrestling about with the leopard.
A/N: You are all probably wondering where Sora is with that bow right about now, well just so that you all know, she had been knocked to the ground by one of the cats, but was able to beat it over the head with a rock and nock it out. Her bow however had come unstrung and so she had to stop and fix it.
Finally, after fixing her bow, Sora looked around her, taking stock of the situation. Kenshin was back to back with Kaoru, fighting off the cats, the horses of course were fighting on their own, Yahiko was senseless on the ground and Sano and Megumi were fighting for their lives over by Yahiko.
Poor, poor heroes, what will they do now? The doctor is unconscious; we do not yet know what Yahiko's condition is, and the others are all currently fighting for their lives. I can be very cruel with my cliffhangers, and this happens to be one of them! Well please review! Until next time!