The more weeks that started to pass by, the more Soujiro began to realize he was not going to get very far north of here as he hoped he would. Even remaining near or on the main road had done little good as it took them across the country and not directly north. He had given up on using the sun as his guide as it continuously hid itself behind the overcast of gray clouds. Even when it did reveal itself, Soujiro felt it was no longer worth the risk to travel completely off the main road and get turned around with the colder season setting in. Had it been warmer and somewhere in the middle of summer, there might have been time to get lost, but he currently was running out of time.

As of right now, he wasn't exactly lost, but he was at a loss of what to do to keep both he and Koharu safe through the winter and without involving her in his predicament with the government. He was beginning to think he had not fully thought it through when he decided to take her with him. Not only had taking her with him slowed him immensely in his journey, but he felt she was going to end up dead because of him. There was no where he could settle down without the risk of being located and putting Koharu in danger. The only chance he felt he had was to give her up, that is, find someone who could actually and properly care for her. He never did get the courage to tell her his decision and decided that that was for the best, for now. Coming to terms with this decision, however, left him bitter and he started to take it out on her.

Even after they had left the village inn, Koharu would try to playfully wrestle with him, or just be clingy over all, which he had tolerated at first. Not too long after he decided to eventually let her go, he finally snapped at her one morning when she tried trapping him in a headlock. Koharu got the message and finally backed off from him, not even walking too close to him anymore. Nothing upset her more than angering him and see him turn those blue, indignant eyes upon her. That alone, was usually enough to put her in her place, but he had skipped right over that when he lashed out at her in his bitterness. When she felt he had calm down, she would try to strike up small conversation to ease the awkward tension growing between them. Soujiro still didn't make it easy. She mainly had to do all the talking and if she managed to get him to speak, his responses were short and sometimes abrupt. What was worst about it to her was that she had barely seen his smile and not heard him laugh since they left the inn. Before, she could simply be herself and she never knew what she could do to spark his smile or laughter. Now, it seemed like the more she acted like herself, the more bitter he was towards her. It seemed best now to just stay quiet and give Soujiro his space, but she felt more distant from him now than when they first met. She became afraid of losing him all over again and worse yet, being despised by him.

It was a cold November morning when she managed to wake up before Soujiro. The fire was still ablazed, which suggested that Soujiro had kept it going through the night and even more recently by how strong it was still burning. She sat up and took advantage of the warmth the fire brought her when her eyes fell upon his sleeping form across from her. He must have now just managed to fall asleep. She could have smiled fondly seeing him sparsely covered with some leaves that the wind had blown upon him as he slept. The trees limbs were fully exposed by now this late into November, but it left all the more leaves to be tossed about by the winds until the snow would come. It's how I first saw him, she noted. But the leaves were more vibrant. Even then, he had seemed a little happier. She turned her gaze to his face that had a soft amber glow to it from how close he slept to the fire and clearly revealed he was still being plagued by something from the frown he wore in his sleep. Sou, what can I do to make you happy again? She wondered to herself. Where did that smile go? She looked back at the flames and noted how he must have been up for most of the night to keep it burning for both their sakes so they wouldn't freeze. He's doing too much. I'm letting him do all the work. No wonder he's irritated all the time. I'm not doing my part, she pulled her knees to her chest as she berated herself.

She looked back up to gaze at her weary friend when her eyes fell up their bag with their supplies Soujiro had sat near him. They had passed a streaming river that could be seen off the main path, and Soujiro had even gone to explore the river but hadn't gazed at it long before he turned a cold shoulder to it, like something about it had bothered him. She had thought little of it, since something already seemed to be bothering him and figured he was just simply inspecting the river for food. Some mornings when they were near or had passed a body of water, Soujiro would get up early and somehow managed to catch some fish for them to eat. She never saw how he did it because she was usually just waking up by the time he returned. It makes me smile when he does things for me. I need to do the same for him. Even now she could hear the river Soujiro had inspected just the day before streaming by not too far. This is my chance to do something for him.

She quietly got up and tiptoed towards him so to not try to stir the young samurai from his sleep. She knelt down only when she was in close enough reach for their pouch when her eyes then fell upon his sword. The sword lay directly beside him, his fist folded softly next to the weapon. She couldn't help but wonder if he actually went to sleep grasping the weapon. Does he think we're in danger? Or do swordsmen just like keeping their weapon that close? I guess that's why they're called swordsmen. She shrugged it off and started to walk away before she decided to pause again and look at the sword again. What if he uses that to fish? After contemplating on it for just a moment, she decided to take the sword, just in case. When she knelt beside him to retrieve his sword, she could hear him still breathing evenly in his sleep and she couldn't help but fondly smile. He deserves to sleep in for once. By the time he wakes up, he'll have his sword back and a meal waiting for him. Maybe then I'll see that smile. She started to turn away, clutching the sword against her as she began the small trek to the river.

"Hmm, the current is going quite fast, but at least it's shallow," she said as she started digging in her bag at her side and pulled out the knife they had relieved Hisato of. "Now does he use his sword, or this?" She held both the knife and sword up. The sword quickly became the obvious choice for her. "I can't picture Sou using a knife to fish." She put the knife back in her bag and then carefully drew the sword from the scabbard. She slipped off her socks and sandals and then tucked the ends of her pants in her sash. She left the scabbard against a tree with her shoes before approaching he river.

"Brr!" She shivered when she touched her toe in the water. "It's just a little cold," she convinced herself. "It wouldn't be a big deal for Sou." One. Two. Three. She decided it would be best just to jump in but yelped out loud when her feet shot up from beneath her and she landed on her backside. At once, the current pulled the sword from her grasp. "Oh no!" She immediately darted after the blade while scrambling on her hands and knees and trailing after the hilt. Just before she was going to lose it for good, she rose halfway off her knees and bolted forward in one last desperate attempt to seize the sword. There was a loud tear from her clothing as she barely managed to grasp the hilt of the sword. She stood against the current in relief that she had not lost his sword, but then saw the long tear in her hakama pants. "Great. Sou is not going to like that I tore my clothes. Better that than to lose his sword though." She looked at the river more closely just now realizing the surface beneath it was mainly a rocky one. "I've got to pay more attention." She had jumped in expecting her feet to sink into soft dirt instead of the slippery, rocky surface it had. She carefully turned to face herself against the current while trying not to lose her balance. She had only traveled a few feet down the river and it already felt like the current had gotten stronger somehow and a little deeper. She exhaled calmly. "It's just fishing. No one dies from fishing...right?" She second guessed herself. Her eyes fell to the rushing waters below when she got a chill and began shivering from the cold water. "Brr! It's freezing. But I'm not going back empty handed," she held the sword up with the hilt by her ear to begin her hunt for fish. She growled irritably as she continued scanning the river for underwater life. "It's moving so fast. I can hardly see anything." But she refused to give up. When she thought she finally saw movement, she attempted to thrust the blade in the water in hopes of impaling some food. Instead, the blade bounce right off a rock. She attempted again, pulling the hilt back beside her head and focused more intensely for any sort of movement within the water. When she felt confident she saw a fish for sure, she thrust the end of the blade down as quickly as she could manage to catch her prey. The sword missed and struck another rock, but instead of bouncing back, the sword was driven over the slippery surface of the rock causing Koharu to lose her balance as she was hurled forward with the sword.

This time, she made sure to hold the blade tightly in her grasp so it wasn't taken with the current again. She resurfaced again only to find the river had pulled her deeper along into it and it was now up to her waist and threatening to pull her along now that it had a better hold over her. When she attempted to ground herself, something felt off about her weight as she stood straight and her eyes bolted to her arm where she had left the bag so it wasn't stolen while she was looking away. It was gone. She had been so concerned with the sword that she had forgotten she was even carrying the bag that held the last bit of their money. She whirled around in time to see the bag one last time before it was pulled under by the current.

"Oh no you don't!" She yelled as she tossed the sword aside to dry ground to dive for the bag. Her only fear at that moment was now facing those cold, blue eyes upon her and telling him she had lost all their money.

She only had to take about five more steps before the ground beneath her feet suddenly seemed to drop. She had practically ran off a cliff before she was sucked under into much deeper waters and completely gone from view. She never even got a chance to scream out in her distress, let alone, be heard by anyone.

Soujiro was still half asleep when his hand naturally went to clutch at his sword, but he found himself clutching at some leaves and dirt instead. His eyes widened and when he saw it was gone, he sat up completely on his side. Koharu was nowhere in sight either. "Koharu, where are you? I'm not in that mood for games." When there was no immediate response, he stood impatiently to his feet. "Koharu!"

As his senses became more alert, he knew he was alone out here. Especially knowing Koharu was usually quick to obey him, for the most part. Besides the streaming river nearby, it was quiet. It was nearly impossible to be so with all the leaves on the ground. He looked around the campsite trying to understand what was going on and saw their bag that held their money was gone too. A look of confusion fell over his face, knowing she wouldn't dare rob him again, but it was hard to imagine why she was missing with all their things. He clutched at his bangs in frustration. "What's wrong with me? She shouldn't have been able to sneak away so easily." He had slept very little simply because it was too cold to let the fire die out. Being up had also been dangerous because he had been left alone with his thoughts. So once he finally managed some sleep, it came like a deep spell over him, reminding him he was still human, after all.

His hold loosen on his hair when the sound of the teeming river filled his ears. He turned towards the river and once he did so, something told him to run to it.

"Koharu!" He yelled as he pushed the last limb of a tree blocking his view of the river. At once, he spotted the scabbard of his sword against a tree with her sandals and socks. He picked up the scabbard, not necessarily out of concern for the sword, but as to why she felt the need to take it from him in the first place. He approached the riverside looking both ways for her until he spotted his open sword down a few yards away, near where the rapids started to form in the river. "Oh no," he clutched at his hair again, more or less understanding what had happened to her. He was already darting alongside the river in search for her. "Koharu, you ignorant fool!" He cried out in a state of panic as he recovered his sword back in hand. He continued yelling for her as he ran along. He eventually had to slow in his run as the river became more rapid and filled with debris from the surrounding forest such as large boulders and even fallen trees and tree limbs.

He could feel his heart beating almost painfully from the adrenaline and already fearing the worst outcome. He could had overlooked her somehow. She could be miles down the river already or have gotten trapped somewhere beneath, he had no way of knowing. She could be dead. He didn't stop moving, however, knowing that every second was going to count. "Koharu!" He attempted to call out to her again, fearing still that the rushing river was drowning out his voice. By now, the land had risen over the river, allowing him a better view of the river, but not allowing such an easy access with the rocky cliffs surrounding the river.

Finally, he recognized the faint sound of her voice calling earnestly for him. "Sou!" She tried to scream, but it was nearly drowned out by the rapids. He quickened his pace at the sound of her voice while scanning the river below for her smaller form. He had to skid to a stop when he finally located her in the rapids. She had taken hold of a rock protruding from the harsh moving river, but she was constantly having to readjust her hold on it because of the sharp and slippery surface. There was only one direction she could keep her head, which was practically planted against the rock just so she could get a breath of air as the water thrashed against her. She was choking after having raised her head to scream his name out so he'd find her.

"Hold on! I'm coming down!" He called to her as he quickly removed himself his own socks and sandals. The shoes would only prove to make the climb down all the more difficult and treacherous. He then quickly slid the sword back through his sash before he climbed about halfway and sat his foot firmly against the side of a rock to thrust himself off. He soar through the air until he landed upon a larger rock formation near Koharu and carefully turned to face her as he drew the whole sword from his side. He then got as close as he could managed towards her before holding the covered sword above the hilt as he extended the end out towards her. "Grab the sword!" If she could just reach the scabbard and hold on a few seconds, he could pull her to him and use his other arm to lift her out.

Koharu only had to raise her head towards him before she was thrashed mercilessly in the face. She choked and coughed as her hold on the rock finally slipped. For a moment, Soujiro thought he lost her until he felt a strong tug at the end of the sword and saw her somewhat emerge from the rapids. "Come on," he encouraged her and started to pull her towards him. As soon as he could, he reached his other arm out to her. "I got you." He spoke too soon. He barely managed to grasp her fingers before they slipped through his hold and she was pulled back under the vicious waters. "No, Koharu!" He even tried reaching back for her but she already was gone from view. He twisted around on his legs, barely paying mind to where he sat his sword and dove into the rapids after her. There wasn't time to think if that was the best move. He feared if he lost her again, he wouldn't be able to find her.

The fridged water numbed his body on contact as the waters current forced him down into the darkness below. He was able to spot Koharu above and fought with all his strength to reach her, but it only served to tire him out more when he was getting no where. Koharu was frantically using all four limbs to desperately get her head above the water to no avail. He found the only way to work with the current he was trapped in was to let himself sink to the bottom, when he got an unusual idea. While keeping his eye on Koharu, he waited until his foot would finally touched the bottom of the river while keeping his gaze upwards. I've never tried the shukuchi underwater, but I don't know what else to do. Of course, he knew he couldn't run under water, but he thought if he could apply the same technique under water, he could possibly break through the current he was trapped in. His feet finally reached the bottom as he directed his arms behind him and tapped his foot to get a feel for his special technique while underneath the rushing waters. Finally, he struck his foot down against some formation of rock while keeping his gaze focused on Koharu. On contact, the whole of the rock cracked and a piece broke off from where his foot let off as he was sent on flight back towards the surface. In mid-flight, he stretched his arms out and swiftly caught Koharu just as she was sinking back below. At last second, however, Soujiro realized he had not thought this through as he broke through the surface. He had less than a second to brace for impact as he barely managed to turn to his back to protect Koharu and was slammed into the side of a fallen tree.

"Soujiro!" Koharu choked out as his arms fell loose from around her. She twisted around to find him blacked out from the impact he submitted himself to. She quickly lunged out for him and curled her arm underneath his to keep him above the water and looped her other arm around the limb of the fallen tree before the river would pull them back under again. "Sou! Wake up!" She cried. He was already slipping from her hold. She tried to readjust her hold, but it did little good. "Please! I'm so sorry! Just wake up!" She screamed into his shoulder. She had to either let him go soon, or the tree because her hold was slipping on both. She knew enough even in that dire moment that if she let him go, she was still as good as dead. If she had to, they would both go, but not without giving him a chance to act. "Soujiro!"

Her last scream finally reached him so that his eyes opened. Koharu lifted her head from his shoulder when she felt his arm brush against her's and saw his eyes opened, but they struggled to remain so. He looked as if he could give out at any given second. He reached out and clutched at the same branch Koharu had, seeing how her hold was about to slip. "Sou! I'm so sorry!"

"Save it, Koharu," he grunted out. He cringed, having been battered up by the impact he undertook, but he couldn't tell if anything was broken because of how numb the water had made him. They would soon go into hypothermia if they didn't get out of the water. "This isn't over," he uttered softly trying to ignore the pain and cold. "I'm going to have to let go of the tree. The current is still too strong to swim to safety." He didn't fully explain his plan as he took hold of her arm and turned his back into her before resting her arm back against his neck. She naturally rested her other arm around him. "Take a deep brea-" he didn't get to finish before his numb hand gave out on him and they were pulled back under. From there, Soujiro blacked out again when his head struck the side of the tree.

AN: Annnnnd cliffhanger!

I actually have experience being caught in rapids when I went rafting with my family. What's funny is before the trip my uncle told me that if I doubt my skills at all to swim, wear a life jacket. I doubted, so I wore one. Towards the end of the trip, we lost control and ironically ended up slamming into the side of a fallen tree. The water was coming in so strong and pummeling the rafter, that the thing actually started to sink. We had to abandon ship! I actually had to leap into the rapid waters. Granted, it was nothing like I'm describing in the fanfiction but even when I jumped in the water, I was pulled to the bottom of the river because the current was still that strong. I had to wait for the life jacket to work before I popped back up! I thanked my uncle for his words of wisdom that day! XD