Kougaiji recalled how he hadn't managed to get her scripture that day or meet up with Sanzo either as he was brought back to reality and the seriousness of their situation. "I just... I don't understand..." Her voice made him look back at her. "Really. You don't understand?" he hissed in disbelief but relaxed his glare when she looked at him with tear-filled eyes, "Don't be mean ok? No one's here to care how you act towards me so drop it please." she begged him, pouting slightly as she tried to keep from crying. "Sorry... I'm just feeling nervous." he apologised, not sure how to explain himself. "Well that's understandable... we're inches away from falling." Yuki said softly, her words reminding him that she was terrified of heights. "That's not it." Kou sighed softly, "I guess I'm nervous because... what happened to everyone... who's to say it won't happen to me?" Almost before the last word came out of his mouth she looked at him with wide eyes in shock, "Don't say that! It's not going to happen! I won't allow it! You have to hang on to yourself Kou, Please! I don't wanna be alone!" she pleaded, her hand taking his. He could feel her trembling and he gently clasped her hand in return, "I'll do my best." he said and she smiled in slight relief at his promise. "I hope Sanzo is ok..." she said. Kou had started to smile because she was smiling but that soon fell as Sanzo was mentioned. That guy always got in the way of everything. It would be easier for Kou if Sanzo had been killed but, on the same hand, Sanzo was probably one of the few who knew how to reverse the effects of the Minus wave.
"First thing's first, before we worry about him we need to get off here and far enough away from them so they stop hunting us." Kougaiji said calmly. He used the word 'us' but the reality was 'you'.
It had all started two days ago now. Around midnight Kougaiji's group had attacked the sanzo party... basically the usual stuff, the only difference was that they had to stop due to a sudden freak storm. Yuki had huddled close to Sanzo out of the way and under a large tree to get out of the sudden painful downpour of rain. Goku had kicked Kougaiji hard in the stomach against a tree not far from the two humans so he had just missed getting soaked. All fighting had stopped as the rain started to fall and the youkai (and hanyou) had stopped to look up at the skies. Sanzo had questioned what the idiots were doing but it had been Yuki who'd shouted out to them.
"Goku! Gojyo! Hakkai! Guys, get out of the rain! You'll catch a cold!" she shouted, being her usual caring self. "You too Yaone, Dokugakuji and Lirin! Fall back!" Kougaiji shouted to his group. Those out in the rain slowly turned their heads to look at Kougaiji, Sanzo and Yuki but something was clearly different as the rain stopped as quickly as it had started. They all had a demonic but vacant look in their eyes and their mouths curled to form sadistic smiles. "Shit." Sanzo had taken his Sutra off and placed it around Yuki's neck then had just enough time to swear before throwing Yuki sideways out of the way, at Kougaiji by accident, before one of Hakkai's energy blasts hit the tree where they'd been stood. "Hakkai?! What...?" Yuki started to shout but Sanzo interrupted her, "It's the minus wave. Yuki get the fuck out of here." he said as he slowly backed away. "But..." she started to protest. "Kougaiji. I don't ask favours but get her out of here!" Sanzo demanded. Kougaiji didn't think twice so picked her up and ran. Unlike when he'd first met her, she was now screaming for Sanzo and demanding that Kougaiji put her down. Thinking about it now, Kou wasn't sure why he had listened to Sanzo when he didn't have to. He could have easily pulled the sutra from her shoulders and ran. It would have been much easier. But he didn't.
Goku and Lirin had chased them for over an hour and, though Yuki was silent now yet still crying, they hadn't let up. Kougaiji had felt his stamina slip and knew he couldn't go on. That's when he'd ran to the peak of a hill, hoping to see somewhere below he could hide her in or somewhere he could at least make a decent stand. But it hadn't happened that way and the slope on the other side of the hill was so steep he lost his footing and gravity forced him to start running down it. He tried to stop but that made him slip and fall. The fall had thrown Yuki from his shoulder and he had leapt to try to catch her hand to keep her close but had found that the grassy slope under him had vanished. He vaguely remembered pulling Yuki to his chest and throwing his spare hand against the cliff wall to stop himself. Still, they had gone twenty foot or so down before they had come to a stop, clinging to the cliff. He had looked across, expecting to see a scared Yuki crying in his arms but was surprised that it wasn't so. She was, indeed, still in his arms but she had her opposite arm outstretched like he did with a scythe in her hand. It was Gojyo's and, while she couldn't use it the way he could, she had somehow managed to get hold of it as they ran away and was now using it to keep them close to the cliff wall though it had done a great deal of damage to her wrist in the process.
That was when she had looked at him, tearfully and admitted her fear of heights. Not that he had heard it first time but rather she had turned to him and asked "When the hell did you grab that?" She had sniffed and replied "You mean... just before we ran into the thicker part of the woods, you didn't feel something dragging on us?" Kougaiji shook his head. "Serious? Gojyo launched an attack at us! The chain on his scythe wrapped around my wrist and nearly broke it before you pulled me hard enough to snatch it out of his hands!" She tried to explain but sighed and stared at the rocky face before her, "Well... my wrist is broken now... so... yeah..." she uttered. Kougaiji let his eyes drift back to her wrist and now knew what the smell was that had caught in his nose. It was blood and it was slowly trickling down her arm. He felt confused. How could the chain cause that much damage when they had stopped falling now... they had stopped hadn't they? It was then that he finally looked down and saw that her feet weren't touching the small rocky ledge his feet had caught onto. It was a smooth slab of rock Yuki rested against.
Kougaiji felt sick as he looked back up and saw her skin tear, causing more blood to flow down her arm. "Hey. Do you trust me?" he asked slowly, looking away from her. "Excuse me?" she sniffed, really trying not to cry. "I said. Do. You. Trust. Me." he said through gritted teeth. "Ah... erm... Yes... of course." Yuki agreed though felt worried about what he was planning. "Good. Because I'm going to swing you." he said calmly. "Swing me?" she repeated, not understanding. "On three." Kougaiji confirmed. "Three?" She asked, wishing he'd explain. "One..." Kougaiji started. "Swing me? On three?" Yuki tried to make him explain. "Two." Kougaiji said, again quite calmly. "Swing me where!" Yuki whimpered. "Three." Kougaiji said. "Three...?" Yuki had started to say but mid word Kougaiji pulled her away from the wall, effectively throwing her off the cliff, ignoring her scream though it hurt his ears, and managed to swing her round to his opposite side, spinning on the spot as he did so. That was how they ended up in their current predicament... with their backs to the cliff, alone, arms outstretched for balance.
"so...your wrist. You said its broken right?" Kougaiji asked to help keep her mind off the 'what ifs' and calm her down from the ordeal of being swung off the end of a cliff. Yuki nodded. "I don't know much about humans... Will it ever heal?" He continued. "ahu... If I rest it and keep it perfectly still in a cast." She confirmed. Kou felt a little better for hearing that as he'd learned that humans were very fragile. "We'll give it a few more minutes then I'll take a look around ok?" He asked. Yuki nodded.
They waited in comfortable silence for a while...albeit that Yuki had her eyes closed, but the comfort came for Kougaiji in the form of simply holding her hand. When some time had passed Kougaiji slowly let go of her hand. She looked across at him with a panicked expression. Kougaiji smiled to soothe her as he pulled his white scarf from the straps on his jacket and passed it to her. She took it with her now free hand but looked at him confused. "Keep hold of that for me. You look cold so it'll keep you warm and, as long as you've got that I'll always be close by. I never abandon my property." He explained with a slight smile as he saw her blush. His words had left her speechless so he just turned slowly to face the wall, "If it's all clear I'll come back down for you." He promised as he started climbing up. Yuki watched him as long as she could then waited in silence for him to return. She was surprised at the comfort his scarf brought and how his words played on repeat in her head.
After a short time Kougaiji climbed back down. "it's empty up there so we should be safe." He told her. "Great. We need to find somewhere safe to sleep tonight." She said. "Yes. So what are you waiting for?" Kougaiji asked. Yuki looked at him in confusion. "Well it's not like you can climb back up using that wrist right? So, the only way you can get back up there is if I carry you." He said kindly. "you don't mind?" She asked shyly, shuffling a little closer along the ledge. "If I minded then I wouldn't have offered." He said taking her hand and putting it on his shoulder. "you'll have to swing around onto my back. Can you manage that much?" He asked. She nodded slightly and moved until her body was close to his. "Just wrap your arms around my neck and hang on ok? I won't drop you." He promised. Yuki nodded and hesitantly swing herself around and wrapped her arms around his neck, using the pole part of Gojyo's scythe to help keep her on as her hand was practically useless. Kougaiji found himself blush hard as he felt her body press against his back but he managed to shake it from his mind as he started the climb back up. Once at the top he let her down and she stood next to him, holding her painful wrist as they looked around. "Looks like its going to rain again." She said as they set off together. "It's best if we avoid it if possible." Kougaiji agreed.
They walked with purpose through the woods, back the way they came. Yuki stuck close to Kougaiji's side, expecting him to ask for his scarf back but he didn't. "Finally! Some luck!" Kou finally broke the silence as he pointed out a cave up ahead. "let me go check it out first to make sure it's safe." He started saying. "No. Last time I was in shock but if there's anyone ahead who means us harm...well I want to be at your side to help. I'm not as weak and pathetic as you might expect of humans, or women. There's a reason I'm Sanzo's right hand man... er I mean woman." She said firmly with a determined tone as she started forwards to the cave. Kougaiji was shocked by her words and, in truth, he had often mentally questioned why Sanzo kept Yuki so close when he'd never witnessed her actually fight, but he shook it from his mind and hurried after her... especially when she started running into the cave. Kou panicked and rushed to catch up but what he saw when he got close to the cave shocked him into stopping dead in his tracks.