Polo and Dreameh's fanfic RP... ;D Jimmy/Kougu [Probably mature]

“Er, Kougu?” He looked up obediently, “When you were a kid...” At the word 'kid', Kougu visibly stiffened, raising his shoulders defensively and pressing his hands into his pockets. If this was going to be a discussion about his childhood, then he wasn't sure he wanted to take part. Charlie was the only person that he had ever shared his past with, and that had taken an awful lot of time, and even more pain and suffering before he finally trusted her enough to tell his story. Jimmy was a good man, but... Well, there was a line drawn in the sand, here. Kougu only hoped that the man wouldn't cross it.
“When you were a kid," Jimmy repeated, "Where did you play? You know, all those little places that only a kid knows. Dens, forts, that sort of thing.“
Confused, Kougu just stared at Jimmy, blinking blankly. His shoulders dropped an inch, but it was clear from the look on his face that he had no answer.
"Play?" He repeated dumbly, as though he had never heard the word in his life before, "What do you mean?"
“Who did you hang out with? What did you do all the time?”
He pulled back, uncertain, and his jaw tightened as he seemed to mull this over, rolling the question around in his mind. He knew what Jimmy was asking him, but he was still deciding whether or not he wanted to answer, or rather, how much he dared divulge with his answer.
Looking away, Kougu picked absentmindedly at his thumbnail, and mumbled awkwardly, "I, um..." He cleared his throat, "I didn't exactly have much of a childhood, to be honest." He confessed, although Jimmy had probably already guessed that, "So I didn't really play, or hang out with anyone. When I tried," He smiled bitterly, "It didn't exactly end well..." Shaking off the thoughts, he pushed his hair back out of his face and - before Jimmy could quiz him over what happened - added quickly, "I mostly just trained, or studied. There wasn't much time for anything else." He shrugged, scratching his head awkwardly, and then quickly bounced the conversational ball back Jimmy's way. "What about you? What did you do for... 'Fun'?"

Kougu seemed a little uncomfortable at the sudden change of subject, and if Jimmy's guess was correct, he had reason to be. Something really bad had happened in his childhood at some point to make him as messed up as he was, but it didn't seem he was in the mood to talk about it. Fair enough, they'd spent enough time together on the seven hour plane journey anyway.
“I didn't exactly have much of a childhood, to be honest.”
Jimmy nodded in understanding. He'd already figured out that much.
“So I didn't really play, or hang out with anyone. When I tried, it didn't exactly end well...” Jimmy raised an eyebrow at this, but he decided not to push on the subject. Kougu had been abused, that's what he had concluded. He didn't know how, nor did he really want to, but it had happened. That was it.
When Kougu mentioned training, Jimmy frowned. Training for what? Why did he know how to fight in so many different ways? Jimmy knew how to fist fight and point a gun, but that was it. When on the streets, that's really all you needed. Not all this ninja 'keichu' crap.
“What about you? What did you do for... 'Fun'?” Having the conversation suddenly pushed back in his direction surprised him, and Jimmy's cheeks flushed slightly at the memory of his childhood. He presumed Kougu meant before Amy had been kidnapped.
“Well... Uh-...” He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “Amy and I used to do a lot together as kids. Chasing ducks was one of the top things. Other children would feed them, but they were more entertaining to chase.” He chuckled at the memory and poured himself a glass of water.
“Playing 'knock a door, run' was another. We'd pick a door, usually one with a really grumpy old person in it, knock on the door and leg it before they shouted obscenities at us.” He shook his head in amusement, taking another swig of his water.
“Anyway...” Jimmy cleared his throat, then poured the rest of his water down the sink and rinsed out th glass. “I'm gunna have a jog around the grounds, then I'll probably go have a nap. You should try forty winks, too, you look like a panda.” He teased lightheartedly, patting a hand on Kougu's shoulder as he passed.
Really, looking at them now it was like they'd always been great friends, but they barely knew stuff about each other. What's more, they were in love with the same person. How did that work? But Kougu had done Jimmy an important favour those few weeks ago and he was grateful for it.

Kougu had to smile when he heard about Jimmy's childhood games, mostly because they were just so 'Jimmy', he couldn't help but feel amused. He could just see it: young Jimmy running for his life while some grumpy old grandpa came storming out, stomping and shouting, to lob a pair of slippers at his head. He nearly chuckled at the thought.
“Anyway...” Jimmy cleared his throat, rinsing out his glass, and Kougu sensed that the story had come to an end.
“I'm gunna have a jog around the grounds, then I'll probably go have a nap. You should try forty winks, too, you look like a panda.”
"I do?" He questioned vaguely, touching his face. It didn't feel furry. But before he could think any more on it, he felt a hand strike his shoulder, and staggered sideways in surprise. He flinched automatically, expecting another, harder blow to follow - but it never came. By the time he realized his mistake, Jimmy had already left, and Kougu was left standing alone, feeling slightly embarrassed, and clutching his shoulder like a keepsake. Honestly, he was deeply touched by that one little pat, even if he hadn't quite understood it at first. Aside from Charlie, nobody had ever really shown him affection before, and certainly not in such a brotherly fashion. After craving his father's approval for as long as he could even remember, Kougu could hardly believe that he might have found some sort of male role model in his life at last.
Stunned by the thought, he shivered where he stood, then rubbed his arms and made his way back to the study to do some more research. He didn't have time to sleep. First, he had to find some sort of lead to get him closer to President Noah.

Several long, cold hours of searching later, he had it. The person in question was an ex-politician - supposed to be dead - living under a false alias as a hermit in the Coldclaw Mountains nearby. Kougu had been lucky enough to piece together the story in his research, and had finally found contact information for the man to arrange a meeting.
At last, He thought, sighing wearily and rubbing his aching temples, We have our heading.

Jimmy's jog lasted no longer than half an hour, but it refreshed him enough to put him in a brighter mood than before. He re-entered the house very ready for his nap, and without giving a word to Kougu, climbed up stairs and collapsed on his bed with a small grunt. He wasn't seen for the next three hours.

It was dinner time in the US by the time he managed to throw himself out of bed, and he wandered back down the stairs with the worst bedhead and a sleepy look in his eye. The first place he went was the study, where Kougu was still glued to the computer screen. Jimmy still didn't know what he was looking for. Maybe thinking up a plan?
He glanced over the screen to check out the new face on the screen, a man he didn't recognise, and yawned a long, smelly yawn in Kougu's direction.
“What've you got, then? Anything good?” He asked through his yawn, stealing a small desk chair y the desk and throwing himself on it, spinning around to amuse himself.

Exhausted and stressed, Kougu stared blankly at the picture on the screen, trying to conjure up a plan, until the sound of footsteps entering the room distracted him. He looked up, and his dark eyes tracked Jimmy's progress as the man approached behind him, leaning down to glance at the screen. Kougu shifted uncomfortably, dropping his gaze to watch his hands twisting in his lap. “What've you got, then?" Jimmy asked, and Kougu winced at the horrible grinding sound of a chair being pulled across the wooden floor, "Anything good?”
"I-" He coughed when Jimmy's breath hit him, momentarily stunned by the smell. That was a particularly powerful stench. "I think so." He repeated, clearing his throat and pushing back his hair to see the screen better, "That's Sam Bates. He used to be a well-known politician, and it seems he was the leading candidate for presidency before he mysteriously vanished a few weeks before the election. He was pronounced dead, but I've heard some rumours stating otherwise." He minimised the page, and opened another, sporting a map. "These are the Coldclaw Mountains," He said, pointing to a zigzag pattern on the map, "From what I've heard, it seems he's hiding out there under a false alias." Kougu closed the Internet, then sighed heavily, and turned to Jimmy. "He must know something he shouldn't, or my-" He coughed, "'President Noah' wouldn't have risked the publicity of getting rid of him. It's as good a place as ever to start..." He glanced toward the window, to see the first flakes of snow sticking to the glass outside. It was going to be a cold weekend.
"I'm going to head off first thing in the morning." He stood up, shutting off the computer, and dropping a flash drive with the information into his pocket, "You can come along if you like, or stay behind. It's up to you. From what I can tell, it seems the mountains are fairly dangerous, and cold at this time of year, so we'd better pack some warm clothes."

Ignoring Kougu's reaction to his hideous breath, Jimmy spun around on his tiny chair with childish pleasure as the man explained what he had found. He told of an ex-politician, Sam Bates, who had mysteriously vanished close to the election who this 'President Noah' had been elected. According to what Kougu had found this man had been in hiding ever since in the mountains, probably fearing for his life if the knew president really was as nasty as Kougu had stated. Poor guy. Being demoted was one thing, but suddenly having people setting out to kill you when you hadn't done anything was way out of line. Jimmy didn't like politicians, but he'd never wish a life like that on anyone.
Jimmy noticed Kougu's slip of the tongue before he coughed, saying 'my' before he corrected himself. His what? Noah certainly wasn't his president, since Kougu didn't live in the States. So who was this man to him? How did he know him so well?
“I'm going to head off first thing in the morning.” Kougu stated simply, and Jimmy stopped spinning in his chair.
“You're what?”
“You can come along if you like, or stay behind. It's up to you. From what I can tell, it seems the mountains are fairly dangerous, and cold at this time of year, so we'd better pack some warm clothes.”
“Kougu, wait a minute.” Jimmy had to do the same in order to keep his head from spinning. Spinning around so fast on a desk chair was never a good idea. “We're going to go find a guy who's being hunted down by the President himself, hidden in a mountain somewhere in this weather?” He gestured to the window, where sleety droplets were hitting the glass and causing it to steam with the cold.
“What do we plan to get out of this, exactly?” He frowned. “How's this guy gunna help up with our goal?”

“Kougu, wait a minute.” Jimmy said, and Kougu did as instructed, pausing with folded arms, and watching Jimmy expectantly. “We're going to go find a guy who's being hunted down by the President himself, hidden in a mountain somewhere in this weather?”
Kougu looked outside, then shrugged, and looked back at Jimmy. "I said it would be cold." He pointed out innocently, "What of it?"
“What do we plan to get out of this, exactly?” Jimmy asked, frowning, “How's this guy gunna help up with our goal?”
"I don't know." Kougu answered innocently, raising his shoulders, "But What I do know is that if Noah would go so far to exile him, then he must have some pretty dangerous information. This isn't just a case of eliminating the competition," Kougu shook his head, "It wouldn't be worth the risk of incriminating himself. Bates must know something about what Noah is planning, and if we can find out that information, well..." He sighed heavily, "We might at least know where to start. Knowledge is power, and the more we gain, the more likely I am to be able to come up with a strategy to overthrow Noah.." He trailed off, frowning. "It isn't going to be easy. I have to find out as much as I possibly can if all this is going to work. And, well," He glanced toward the computer, "We have to start somewhere." His eyes fell back upon Jimmy, holding his gaze intently. "Are you in?"

Jimmy sat back, considering what Kougu was saying. If this guy did know something worth being killed for, then it had to be pretty important. But couldn't it wait? Did they have to set off straight in the morning?Couldn't they at least let Jimmy recover from jet lag before going somewhere where they'd be risking their lives and probably interrogating someone?
Then again, Kougu was convinced, it seemed, that he didn't need sleep or food. He was really going for it. Never mind what was 'humanly possible'. The guy had a friggin' samurai sword, anyway.
“It isn't going to be easy. I have to find out as much as I possibly can if all this is going to work. And, well, we have to start somewhere.”
“Yeah,” Jimmy crossed his arms. “I just didn't think we'd start in the middle of a friggin' mountain range.”
Ignoring him, Kougu just stared at him with intent, rather eerie blue eyes. “Are you in?”
Like he had a choice. Rolling his eyes, Jimmy replied unenthusiastically. “Fine.” He stood up and headed to the lounge so he could vegitate in front of the TV for a bit. “But if I get pneumonia up in that mountain I'm blaming you.” He teased, winking over his shoulder, and wandered out of the room.
“Oh, and Kougu?” H poked his head back around the door. “Seriously, get some sleep. It's been a busy day, and I need you awake tomorrow if this is going to go right. I'm in the awesome bedroom if you need me.” He grinned, then disappeared back to the lounge.
Of course he'd chosen the best bedroom in the house. I king would be jealous of him just with the size of his bed.
This made him smirk.

“Fine.” Jimmy said, standing up and making his way to the lounge, “But if I get pneumonia up in that mountain I'm blaming you.” ((Nice. XD ))
"I'll keep that in mind." Kougu answered with a weak smile, unsure whether to be amused or worried by the teasing. It would be cold on the mountain, but if they just took along some thick jackets and made sure they were well prepared, Kougu didn't think there'd be any real risk of getting sick. In any case, if they waited for the weather to clear up, they'd be waiting their whole lives. And who knew when Noah might stumble upon old Bates, holed up in the mountain? This whole thing was just one big race against the clock...
“Oh, and Kougu?”
"Huh?" He jumped, looking up quickly  when he realized Jimmy had poked his head back into the room.
“Seriously, get some sleep. It's been a busy day, and I need you awake tomorrow if this is going to go right. I'm in the awesome bedroom if you need me.”
"Thanks," He smiled faintly, secretly pleased by Jimmy's concern, "But it's okay. I'm not tired yet - I'll start packing for tomorrow."
Of course, he was exhausted, but there was no point in sleeping. How could he, without Charlie at his side? For all he knew, he'd wake up after five minutes having lost his mind. It just wasn't worth the risk...
Sighing, he bode Jimmy good night, then trudged off to his room, and started gathering supplies for the trip. He packed in some jackets, thermal clothes, towels, blankets, matches, a first aid kit, and a length of rope. The bag was starting to bulge, but Kougu was a firm believer in the concept  of 'rather have it and don't need it, than need it and don't have it.

It was three AM by the time he was packed, and after three hours of restless half-sleep, Kougu got out of bed and walked to the next room to fetch Jimmy.
"Come on." He called, rapping on the door, "I want to make an early start. I've packed supplies for us already."
Without waiting for Jimmy, Kougu headed outside and lugged his heavy backpack into the car, slamming the door behind it. He only hoped all this was worth their while...

Jimmy rolled his eyes as Kougu brushed off his concern, saying he'd sleep later. But Jimmy left him to it anyway. It was Kougu, anyway. He was probably homesick, the poor guy.
“Alright.” Jimmy turned away, raising a hand in a backwards wave. “I'll see you tomorrow.” The sun was still out, but Jimmy needed to pack whatever little clothes he had in his bag to take them with him to this mountain. The idea made him groan. He'd never been up a mountain, but he knew the ones in America were far different to those back home. These had snow, and lots of it. They were also probably twice as big.
He couldn't say he was worried, there wasn't much point in such things anyway. He just hoped Kougu wouldn't suddenly go crazy in the middle of a mountain range.
But still, Jimmy didn't get to sleep until 11pm in the States, and it would be coming up to 5am at home.

Kougu knocked on his door early, too early, whilst the room was still dark. In fact, it was only just hitting sunrise outside. It should have been illegal to have to wake up at this time, but then again, Kougu would just do it anyway.
Jimmy grunted childishly at him.
“I want to make an early start. I've packed supplies for us already.”
Of course he had.
Jimmy cursed at him for being so eager, tossing a pillow at the door. It was too early. Way too early. Even the sun was saying so. People who got up before sunrise were out of their friggin' minds.
He waited until Kougu's footsteps had disappeared from the bedroom, and ungraciously got out of bed. His blonde hair stuck up in all directions and he was still wearing he clothes he wore the previous day. He'd only brought one coat with him, a pair of black gloves and a hoodie, which he feared wouldn't be enough to battle snow.
Cursing under his breath, he got them all together and flumped down the stairs with an expression that showed he wasn't all pleased at being woken up from such a deep sleep.
Kougu was already out in the car. Damn him. But it was early, and Jimmy didn't know when they planned on eating again. So, taking his time, he microwaved a tin's worth of baked beans in a bowl, and stood eating them with a spoon. He didn't rush, not once. There was no way he was going to be rushed eating his beans.
Once he was done he wandered out to the car and sat in the passenger seat, dumping his backpack miserably by his feet.
“Can I just say,” he croaked tiredly, “If when all this is over we're still alive, you're buying me a car.” He shot Kougu a glare. “And it better be a bloody amazing one.”

Once he was done packing, Kougu sat in the driver's seat of the car, and stared vaguely out of the windscreen, thinking 'what now?' He wasn't exactly used to working with other people, and the fact that he had to wait for Jimmy was a somewhat unfamiliar concept to him. It wasn't so much that he minded it, but rather that he simply found himself wondering if Jimmy was coming at all, or if he ought to head off on his own. Just when he'd reached the conclusion that he might be better off just leaving, he heard a door slam, and looked up to see Jimmy making his way down the driveway.
A relieved sigh parted his lips, surprising him somewhat. He hadn't realized just what a comfort it was to him to have an accomplice on this mission. He supposed that now he stood to lose so much more than before - namely, Charlie - he had lost his nerve somewhat. A man with nothing to lose was a dangerous thing, and for a moment Kougu wondered if he was even capable of what he had set out to do without such a weapon on his side.
He shuddered at the thought, fiddling with the keys in his hand as Jimmy climbed into the passenger side beside him. He looked up, but seeing the miserable expression on Jimmy's face, he decided it was in his best interest not to say anything.
“Can I just say,” Jimmy croaked, sounding rather grumpy, “If when all this is over we're still alive, you're buying me a car." Kougu withered under his glare, "And it better be a bloody amazing one.”
He watched Jimmy uncertainly, trying to figure out if he was joking or not. Of course, if a car was Jimmy's price, then he would pay it, but he had somehow been under the impression that Jimmy was doing this as a favour to a friend, not as a paid job. Then again, he supposed that had been a foolish and wistful disillusion from the start.
Nevertheless, Kougu felt a surprising weight of disappointment settle in his chest at the thought. Perhaps the craving for approval was still instilled in him from his childhood, but whatever it was, he had been growing rather fondly accustomed to the idea of Jimmy being a part of his life, albeit a small one.
Dismissing the thought, he leaned forward and started the car, then replied simply, "Alright."
The answer was so easy, so casual, that Jimmy might as well have asked to borrow a pen.
"It will have to wait until we get back home, though. There's no point getting one here."
He checked his mirrors, and eased the BMW out of the gate, and onto the quiet country road. From there, they began their journey.

“Alright.”
Kougu replied finally, and Jimmy nodded in approval of his answer. It was to be hoped so, anyway. Otherwise Jimmy would have to do all this out of sheer care for Kougu, and that would be more hard work than doing it for a car.
“It will have to wait until we get back home, though. There's no point getting one here.”
“Duh.” Jimmy pulled his seatbelt down and clicked it into place. “As long as it's black. I like black cars.” His face softened for a moment at the thought. A brand new car. Maybe even a BMW. Or a Mazda. Hell, he'd settle for a black mini. It would have to be a manly Mini, though. He needed a man's car.
Yawning, Jimmy adjusted his seat so it was angled backwards slightly, and rested his head back. As long as this place was further away than ten minutes, he hoped to get a little extra sleep. “Come on then, mate. Let's get this over with.” He urged unenthusiastically, and with that, they set off onto the road.

“Are we nearly there yet?”
Jimmy wasn't sure how long they'd been going for, but his backside was getting considerably more numb as time went on. He also needed the toilet.
Great.
Kougu's driving, no matter how careful, had not helped him with his sleeping, so Jimmy had resorted to staring grumpily out the window, waiting for his fatigue to pass. “I'm bored.” He huffed, then rolled his gaze back to Kougu. He'd never get used to having the driver on the opposite side to where it was back home. “Tell me what the plan is. Are we just going to barge into this guy's home and demand answers? He probably won't tell us if we ask him nicely, you know.”

The mountains were far out of town, and the drive there was not a short one. At first it went by fairly peacefully, with Jimmy snoozing in the passenger seat, and the BMW cruising smoothly over the road. But as they moved further and further away from the city, the roads became bumpier and bumpier, and soon enough, the peace was broken.
“Are we nearly there yet?”
Kougu sighed heavily. It was only one question, but somehow, he had a feeling that there was to be infinitely more complaining to follow. And, sure enough...
“I'm bored.” He could feel Jimmy looking at him, but he kept his eyes on the road, and said nothing. He couldn't help it if Jimmy was bored... Even if he wanted to, he had to drive.
“Tell me what the plan is." Jimmy said, raising a discussion of some importance at last, "Are we just going to barge into this guy's home and demand answers? He probably won't tell us if we ask him nicely, you know.”
"The plan is to take things one step at a time." Kougu said patiently, casting a glance at the rear-view mirror, even though there wasn't another car around for miles. "First we have to find him. Assuming we can do that, I think he might be willing to help us. I've been in touch with someone who claims to be a distant stepbrother of his. If I tell Sam that his brother sent us, he should be accommodating, or so I hear, anyway. I don't see why he wouldn't be," Kougu shrugged, "If a corrupt politician had ruined my life and forced me to live as a hermit, I'd be fairly willing to divulge information to people trying to kill him." He glanced towards Jimmy, "Wouldn't you?"
But there was no time to answer, because at that moment, Kougu saw a road sign overhead - the first in miles - signalling the beginning of the Coldclaw Mountain range.
"We're here." He said, pointing, "I hope you're ready for a long, cold hike. I packed an extra thermal jacket for you in the back." He nodded toward the backpack on the back seat, "There's no point freezing before we get there, after all."

At last, the road petered away into what looked like some sort of makeshift parking lot, made of crumbling concrete, and half-fenced on one side. Kougu let the car roll to a stop, loose stones crunching softly under the tyres, and killed the engine. A heavy silence pressed down from all around, echoed by the tall, snowy mountains stretching up to the sky. Kougu paused a moment, looking over the pristine scenery. It truly was beautiful.
With a deep breath, he opened the door and stepped outside, breathing out steam. The cold bit right through his thin cotton hoodie, and he shivered, rubbing his arms, and hurriedly reached into the back seat to retrieve his backpack.
"Here," He looked out a lovely thick, green jacket - waterproof, padded, and lined with wonderfully soft fake fur - and tossed it to Jimmy, pulling out a worn brown one for himself. He pulled it on quickly, and shivered gratefully as warmth enveloped him. That was much better.
"Ready to head off?" He asked, closing the backpack, and slinging it loosely over his shoulder. "We have to get back before the storm hits."

Jimmy felt his patience return to him when Kougu explained the plan – thank God there was one – and Jimmy nodded, thinking it through in his head. Now he had something to concentrate on besides being cranky. So it made sense that this guy might tell them what he knew, but they had no proof that they weren't spies, that they hadn't been sent by Noah to find out this man's whereabouts and kill him. He'd be paranoid as Hell. Anyone would be in his situation. But still, it was worth it. He hoped. “I hope you're ready for a long, cold hike. I packed an extra thermal jacket for you in the back. There's no point freezing before we get there, after all.” “Grand.” Jimmy groaned, glancing back out the window. The mountains looked depressing from this view, and he had no doubt that they'd want to drag him down with everything they had. Sighing, he pulled his hood up in attempt to muster up his courage, and shot a nervous glance at the greying sky. He had a feeling the weather wasn't going to be on their side. Finally the fancy BMW pulled up at a makeshift car park, and the two climbed. They were hit with a sudden violent, frigid wind that felt like it had come right form the mountain tops, and Jimmy felt goosebumps cover his arms in shock of the temperature difference. The land was dry where they stood, but he could see the thick snow further up the mountains, and with the upcoming weather, with wind like this the entire mountain range would be covered within a couple of hours. “Here,” Kougu handed him the jacket he'd been talking about earlier, and Jimmy took it gratefully. It didn't suit his usual 'streetwise' look, but hell, it was warm, and that was al that mattered. He nodded appreciatively. “Ready to head off?” Kougu asked once he'd pulled on his own thermal jacket. “We have to get back before the storm hit.” Jimmy stopped. “Storm?” Damn Kougu! He hadn't mentioned that before. The bastard had probably decided to wait until Jimmy had been brought here, so there was no choice in the matter. Now, they'd both have to go and, as he'd said, get back before the storm. Shaking his head in disbelief, Jimmy yanked up his three hoods with the last bit of dignity he had left, zipped up his jacket and pulled a scarf out of his pocket. Being in the snow he knew he'd need it. Narrowing his eyes, he wrapped it open around his mouth and tied it behind his head. Then, he grabbed his bag. “Right. I'm ready.” He stated simple. “Which way?

The trek for Jimmy never started out as anything fun. He saw no adventure in it, no excitement, just the daunting thought that they were just two people trying to find another in a mountain range. They had more odds finding a needle in a haystack. What's more, the weather was getting worse the longer they went, and soon enough Jimmy lost most of the feeling in his fingers and toes. He could still move them, but he doubted the task of warming them up would be particularly pleasant.
This guy they were looking for was hiding, therefore if he saw them coming he'd probably flee anyway. The poor guy would probably be terrified. That didn't make the task any easier, either.
After ten minutes Jimmy had got tired. After three hours he was damn well sick of being there.
“How are you holding up?”
Jimmy swore at him.
“I have an extra jacket if-” But before Kougu had the chance to finish, an enormous roar shook the ground they stood on, stopping them both in their tracks.
Jimmy might have sworn then, he might have said a number of atrocities at that point, but the minute that Grizzly bear appeared from beyond the trees, Jimmy nearly choked on his words.
“Woah!” He yelled sharply, his body freezing in fear. It was something he'd seen on a documentary once before, aboutpeople getting attacked by dangerous animals in the wild. One person got attacked by a bear and it ate all the skin off their head before it got shot.
They couldn't run. Bears may be clumsy and not very gracious creatures, but holy crap, they could run. But they were also only two, it would take a hell of a lot to fight it off.
“You have a plan, right?” Jimmy shouted to Kougu, struggling to fight the urge to flee in the opposite direction. It wasn't going to stop.
Either they killed it, or it was going to eat them. Those were the only options.
“Hand me a gun!” He screamed in Kougu's direction, and ripped it from the man's hand before he had a chance to offer it to him. Then, with eyes wide with terror, Jimmy pointed the gun to the sky and fired. But the bear didn't stop. Swallowing nervously then he pointed it at the Grizzly and fired. The bullet might as wel have been made of foam.
He threw the gun back at Kougu to do with as he wished, then yanked out a pen knife from his pocket, flicked the blade out with his thumb, and prepared to throw it. But he had underestimated the bear's speed, and before he had the chance to attack it had thrashed at him, throwing him off his feet and causing him to roll down a few meters into the base of a tree trunk. Growling in a feral manner the bear chased after him, keen to kill him off first, no doubt.
Jimmy groaned and clutched his side, the one that had bashed against the tree. He didn't want to think what damage that had done.
His knife lay a few inches out of his reach, but when he reached out to grab it, a massive brown body towered over him.
“Kougu!” Jimmy screamed, punching the bear's chest in an attempt to get it's huge body away from his, but it did nothing but brush against thick fur. The friction burned his knuckles, but when he reached to punch it's face, it caught his lower arm in his teeth. The impact should have been enough to snap his bone, but instead it let go and chewed again. Jimmy just watched it with wide eyes, frozen with horror, watching the blood trickle down his wrist and stain the animal's jowls. It released it again and flung his arm to the ground, pinning it down with a paw armed with five needle-sharp claws. “Kougu!” He cried again. Goodness knows how long he'd been pinned there, it couldn't have been any longer than a few seconds, but it was like everything was happening in slow motion. “Kougu, argh-” He yelped as the pain finally registered to his arm, and turned his head away as the animal roared in his face.
Desperate to move freely Jimmy thrashed his feet upwards, catching the bear somewhere around it's stomach. It grunted at the contact, and this gave Jimmy the chance to wriggle sideways and grab his blade with the other hand. He didn't think twice.
With his free hand he twisted the blade and ripped it into the bear's chest. Then he yanked downwards.
It just needs shooting at from behind. He thought, faint from the adrenaline rush. The bear heard something from behind it, probably Kougu's footsteps, but the stab in the chest had weakened it. One more blow and it would be dead.
It backed away from him, and finally Jimmy had the frigid air in his face instead of the bear's snarling jaws. But when he tried to move, to give Kougu a hand, reality struck as the pain in his arm brought a shaky cry from his lips. He was drenched in blood, a mix of the bear's and his own, but when he finally dared to look at his arm, his heart leapt into his throat. Blood so dark it was nearing black poured out of countless penetrative bite wounds along his lower arm, and his body trembled with shock. For a moment he could have genuinely been eaten alive.
Trying to cradle his arm he sat up and leant his body against the tree, eyes searching for Kougu. Had he managed to fight it off, or had it got at him too?
He tried to shout his name again, but his nothing came out but a strangled, very scared noise that sounded almost like a dying cat. He was genuinely terror-stricken.

As the massive Grizzly rushed towards them, Kougu felt a desperate urge to flee, but instead he glued his feet firmly to the ground. He knew what to do. He just had to stay calm until the bear was within range, and fire one quick shot through its brain. He knew exactly how to do this, he just had to-
“You have a plan, right?” Jimmy shouted beside him. His panic was contagious. Suddenly starting to tremble, Kougu swallowed anxiously, and pulled a gun from his belt, grasping it between sweaty fingers.
"Yes," He answered, sounding far calmer and more confident than he felt, "I have a plan. Just don't p-"
“Hand me a gun!”
"No-" Kougu began, but before he could say a word, Jimmy had snatched the gun from his sweat-slicked palm, raised it to the sky, and fired. The Grizzly's angry eyes fell upon them, and Kougu felt him stomach lurch as the beast redoubled its lumbering speed.
"Jimmy," He barked, the authority in his voice surprising even him, "Don't shoot. Give me the gun."
But Jimmy shot anyway, and as the bullet thudded dully into the bear's thick fur, the creature didn't even break stride. It just roared, and plunged straight at Jimmy. Too late, the other man finally heeded his warning, and threw the gun back. Kougu caught it, spun it around, and fired in the split second it took for the bear to launch itself at Jimmy. His eyes narrowed as he waited for the bullet to meet its mark, sending the beast crashing to its death mid-leap, but the bullet never came. The gun had fired a blank.
Kougu watched in helpless despair, frozen to the spot, as the bear knocked Jimmy off his feet with one powerful swing of a paw, and sent him rolling down the slope.
For perhaps the first time in his life, he cursed.
Grabbing a stone near his foot, he picked it up and threw it full force at the bear, shouting pointless insults, but the stone just bounced off its shoulders, and it bore down on Jimmy undeterred. 
Cursing again, Kougu ripped open his bag, fumbling with the contents as he tried to load the gun with shaking fingers.
I have to keep calm. He thought, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as he heard Jimmy scream his name. It tore at his very soul.
Ignore it. Block it out. Load the gun, quickly.
His fingers stilled, and quickly inserted the bullets. Then he cocked the gun, and raised his head at last, to see Jimmy pinned against a tree, under the weight of an adult Grizzly, with teeth bared and claws slashing. He could smell blood.
"Hey!" He shouted, aiming the gun skyward as Jimmy had done, and firing a quick shot, "Over here! Hey!"
But the bear had eyes only for Jimmy, and paid no mind to the warning shot. Kougu dared not shoot it from behind, for fear it took Jimmy's head off in its rage. Cursing again, he stumbled into a sprint, racing toward the bear with his gun at the ready. He heard Jimmy call his name again, and then the man lashed at the bear, and finally managed to roll out of the way. The beat stumbled backwards, stunned, and Kougu finally saw hit shot. He raised the gun, and took it. With a loud bang and a flash of gunpowder, the bullet struck the bear directly between the eyes. It uttered a low groan, moaning and choking on blood as it dripped from its jowels. It gave one last furious snarl, and lashed out a massive paw, but the attack overbalanced it, and the mighty beast crashed to the ground, stone dead.
Kougu's teeth clenched, and an unfamiliar feeling of fury stabbed ice into his heart. He pointed his gun at the hairy carcass, and shot again, causing the lifeless thing to jump limply, then start bleeding out on the snow.
His hands shook as he watched the lifeless twitching of nerves, then he shook his head and turned away, feeling sick from remorse. Not for the bear, but for Jimmy.
His eyes fell on the bleeding form of the man, curled up in the snow, and Kougu grabbed his bag, then raced to his side.
"Hold still," He ordered, skidding to a stop and falling to his knees beside Jimmy. He pressed hard on a point in his arm, and the bleeding slowed instantly. "Here," He said, lifting Jimmy's other hand, and placing his thumb firmly onto the pressure point, "Press there as hard as you can. Hey," He snapped his fingers in Jimmy's face, making sure his eyes were focused, "Stay with me."
He forced himself to turn away, and snatched a first aid kit out of his bag, flinging it onto the snow, and ripping open the lid. He rummaged quickly through it, and soon found a number of alcohol wipes. Ripping open the package, he readied it to wipe Jimmy's wounds - but then sympathy stopped him. He took a deep breath, and handed Jimmy a spare roll of elastic bandage. "Bite this." He murmured, "I'm sorry."
He raised Jimmy's arm gently, and breathed a sigh of relief when he didn't immediately feel any broken bones. Then he ripped back the sleeve, wincing on Jimmy's behalf, and gently wiped away the drying blood with the alcohol wipe. It took three before Kougu was sure the wound was properly clean and disinfected, and then he took up a wad of gauze, and placed it gently over the wound. "Keep the pressure on." He murmured to Jimmy, nodding to the point in his arm, "I'm nearly done." He picked up a roll of bandage, and began winding it tightly around Jimmy's arm. He tore it with his teeth, and pinned it in a quick, expert finish.
Breathing a shaky sigh, Kougu turned back to his bag, and scratched through it until he found a bottle of water, and a chocolate bar. Then he took the tub of pills from his pocket. "Here," He said, shaking one out and handing it to Jimmy along with the water, "Take one," He ordered, then quickly shrugged off his jacket, and draped it around Jimmy's shoulders. He was going into shock. Shivering, Kougu waited until Jimmy had swallowed the tablet, then took back the bottle and pills, and handed him the chocolate instead. "It's for the shock," He explained, pulling another jacket out of the bag for himself, and sliding an arm into the sleeve.
"How do you feel?" He asked, his brow furrowed in concern.

Once Jimmy had finally let it digest of the state of his arm he forgot about the bear momentarily Even forgot about Kougu and the fact he was curled up in icy snow. All he saw was red. Red all down his front, on his face, on his hands. Red in his vision. And pain. Searing pain, on his arm mostly. He wondered how deep the fangs had gone, although from the feel of it they had probably bruised the bone as well. Hell, maybe it was even broken. Maybe his hip was broken. Maybe he wouldn't even be able to walk out of the mountain range. Maybe he'd have to crawl...
For a moment hysteria struck, and he was hit with an overbearing urge to laugh, but his face was now frozen. He didn't even know what his expression was doing.
I got bitten by a bear. I grizzly bear. Well, I mean, why not? It's not like everyone gets bitten by a bear. We're in America, after all. Better a bear than a lion. Hell, it would make an amazing story on the news. 'Man killed by bear in Coldclaw mountain range'. Why not get bitten by a bear. Why not let the bastard eat me?
A face popped up in his vision, but he struggled to recognise it at first. Who did he know that had three eyes, two noses and a mouth big enough to fit a football in?
“Hold still.” The face told him, and he finally recognised the voice. Kougu. He must have killed the bear then. Clever sod. Jimmy's arm went warm for a moment as something pressed hard against it, and the blood stopped seeping out quite as much as before. Jimmy chuckled nervously. His eyes were all over the place. After a while he realised it was his own thumb. How had that got there? He heard words. Just words, but they didn't register for a while. But his thumb remained on his wrist. It just didn't want to move. “Hey,” At the sound of snapping fingers, Jimmy blinked. Immediately his double vision disappeared. “Stay with me.”
lowly, very slowly, he nodded. “O-okay.”
Something rustled in the background, but Jimmy was certain it was Kougu and not another bear. At least, he prayed it wasn't another bear. He wasn't getting out of there alive if that were true.
Just then a piece of material was stuffed into his hand, forcing his thumb away from his wrist. Then the instructions to bite it. Jimmy frowned. “W-why-” he stammered uncertainly, when suddenly a sharp pain in his arm caused him to cry out in surprise. His vision went red for a moment, before calming down again. Not he understood.
He put the bandage between his teeth and closed his eyes.

After the wound had been cleaned – or after Kougu had finished torturing him, which ever it was – and after a few more instructions to do with his wrist, Jimmy finally had it bandaged and cleaned up. He was still splashed with blood, mostly on his coat, but at least he no longer had to look at the blood spilling sickeningly out of his wrist.
Kougu handed him a pill and some water, which he took eagerly, and swallowed whole. Then he was handed some chocolate, which he frowned at.
“It's for the shock,” Kougu assured him. Jimmy nodded hesitantly, opened the packet and took a small bite out of it. It was hard due to the low temperatures, but that wasn't what made him spit it out. It could have been anything, bread, porridge, a pear... But nothing could keep him from vomiting at that point. He saved the bar before it happened, shoving it back in Kougu's direction and spitting out his mouthful on the other side. Then he puked out his guts, and the baked beans he'd had that morning. His eye watered with the effort, and his body went cold as shock came back with a vengeance. He shudderd, spat out the bile left in his mouth and leant back against the tree park, closing his eyes. He remembered then that Kougu had just asked him how he was doing, before he'd been sick.
“I feel great.” He croaked at last, glancing down at his body. It was any wonder how he hadn't been ripped to shreds with such an attack. That bear should have eaten his face off for shooting at it. It suddenly occurred to him for all that Kougu had done for him, and when he saw the concern in the man's expression, something he hadn't seen often, Jimmy felt a wave of guilt run through him. He'd been reckless shooting at the bear. But he shouldn't have put Kougu in danger too.
“Thanks.” He murmured, pulling the coat on his shoulders tighter around him. “Really. I shouldn't have been so forward at attacking it.” He ran his icy blue eyes over Kougu's body, checking for wounds. He probably wouldn't have noticed them under all those coats, anyway. “You alright? It didn't get you, did it?”

Kougu watched Jimmy anxiously, barely noticing the cold in his limbs as he knelt in the snow, soaked to the skin. Jimmy took a bite of the chocolate, then gagged, and threw it back in Kougu's direction. He caught it, and looked away with a grimace as Jimmy turned and retched violently into the snow. Kougu had to bite back the bile in his own throat, swallowing sickly. He felt wretched with guilt for bringing Jimmy out here, and even worse for letting the bear get to him. He wasn't sure what he could have done differently, but... He should have done something. Even if it meant throwing himself in front of the bear. He had made a promise, after all, and now he had broken it. He clenched his jaw at the thought, then took a deep breath, and patted Jimmy awkwardly on the back. The gesture was probably the furthest thing from reassuring coming from a social outcast like him, but it was the best he could do. 
At last, Jimmy stopped heaving, and spat on the snow, then fell back against the tree, looking utterly exhausted. Kougu pulled back, giving him his space, and watched him like a worried mother hen, doing his best to keep calm for Jimmy's sake.
“I feel great.” The other man croaked sarcastically, and Kougu looked away, bowing his head in shame.
This is my fault. I've failed you. His hands closed around handfuls of snow, crushing the icy crystals until water dripped from his palms.
Then, “Thanks.” Jimmy's soft voice murmured beside him, causing Kougu to look up in open shock. Did Jimmy really just thank him? He had been expecting a knife in the gut. That was all he deserved, after letting down the one man who'd been willing to help him.
“Really." Jimmy pressed, "I shouldn't have been so forward at attacking it.” Kougu just blinked blankly at him.
“You alright? It didn't get you, did it?”
At this, Kougu very nearly laughed, a breath of grim amusement leaving his lips. "I'm fine," He answered, as though the words tasted poisonous on his tongue. Part of him truly wished he wasn't. "And... Don't thank me." He released a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding, "I should've done something, I-"
He broke off, shaking his head quickly. Now was not the time for guilt. Jimmy wasn't dead; he was very much alive, and he needed help. Right now, it was time to redeem himself as much as the universe would allow.
"Come on," He said, shaking out another pill for Jimmy, "Try keep it down this time, it'll kill the pain." He handed the water bottle back to Jimmy, waited for him to swallow a pill for the second time, then gave him the chocolate. "Eat." He insisted, "You can't afford to go into shock in these temperatures..." His eyes flickered to the sky. The clouds had grown darker, nearly bursting with snow. The wind whipped his fringe across his face, and just as he looked up, snow started to fall. Visibility was decreasing already... He looked back the way they'd come, and saw the footprints quickly fading. They'd never find their way back.
He looked around, searching for more options, and noticed a little crag in the mountainside; it looked just wide enough to hold two people, he hoped. Nodding decisively, he picked up his backpack, and tossed it over his shoulder. Then he turned back to Jimmy.
"Come on." He murmured gently, easing Jimmy's good arm around his shoulders. "You're going to have to help me, I'm not strong enough to carry you." He breathed out a lungful of stress, and slid his free arm around Jimmy's back. Then, with more effort than he thought humanly possible, he attempted to coax some movement from his frozen legs. They trembled pathetically, and Kougu could barely feel them as he stumbled clumsily to his feet, bearing his weight and Jimmy's.
"We're heading over there." he said, nodding toward the little cave, "We'll have to wait out the storm. There's no way we'll make it back in this."

“I'm fine” Kougu assured him with a strange look, as if he had tasted something bitter. What was wrong with that? “And... Don't thank me. I should have done something, I-”
“Kougu.” Jimmy frowned. “Shut up. You did what you could. We... We don't have time f-for this.” He croaked, trying to hold back another stomach-ful of bile that was threatening to come flying up through his gullet. Kougu must have considered his words – about time, too – because he shook out another pill onto his palm. Jimmy glanced at it, then at the one sat in the depressing pile of orange vomit next to him on the snow. The poor thing hadn't had time to work it's magic before he threw it up.
“Try keep it down this time, it'll kill the pain.”
Nodding, Jimmy took the pill and water with shaky hands and swallowed the pill for a second time, then gulped a few mouthfuls of water to fill his stomach. At times like this he had to keep hydrated, if nothing else. But before he could finish it, Kougu pushed the chocolate bar back into his hand. He glanced at it uncertainly.
“Eat.” Kougu ordered, surprisingly bossy considering his usual confidence issues. “You can't afford to go into shock in these temperatures.”
Jimmy wanted to argue. He wanted to say he didn't want to vomit it up because it would look like cat diarrhoea. But Kougu was right. He needed the chocolaty goodness in his system.
Frowning at it, he slowly took a bite. Then, as the stress in his brow began to ease, he took another. And another. Until the chocolate had completely gone. The pill now had the chance to work, and he could feel the shock of the situation easing over. He took a few deep breaths, closed his eyes and waited for his heartbeat to calm enough so he could think straight.
“Come on,” Kougu urged eventually, wrapping Jimmy's arm around his shoulders. Thankfully, he'd chosen the good one. Inhaling a long breath, Jimmy bent his knees and tried to bring his feet beneath him. His legs had gone numb from sitting in the snow. He cursed under his breath, but Kougu didn't give him a chance to doubt himself. “You're going to have to help me,” he said. “I'm not strong enough to carry you.” Soon enough an arm wrapped around Jimmy's back, and with a herculean effort on Kougu's part, the two managed to stand in the snow, where a wind was picking up as fresh snow covered their prints behind them.
Kougu told him where they were headed – thank God someone had a plan – and Jimmy stumbled forward a step. The thickness of the snow wasn't on his side.
“You don't need to carry me.” He huffed, although it took a few clumsy steps for him to find it in him to walk again. “Thanks to you my arm is the only thing that's currently f*cked up.”
Currently...
“Let's go, then.” He urged, keen to find a spot to shelter from the snow. His legs wouldn't carry him for long, and since luck wasn't on their side, he didn't really want to risk slowing them both down. “Jesus, that was scary.” He murmured as somewhat of an afterthought, thinking back to the bear that had nearly eaten him alive. “I forgot you could get stuff like that in America.”

“You don't need to carry me.” Jimmy complained, although his weight on Kougu's shoulder begged to differ. “Thanks to you my arm is the only thing that's currently f*cked up.” Kougu shook his head. As if it was that simple... Under different circumstances, he might have smiled at Jimmy's stubbornness. Instead, he just hooked Jimmy's arm more firmly around his shoulders, and continued supporting his weight as best he could as they trudged up the slippery mountainside. Kougu said nothing, focusing instead on regulating his breathing. His breath misted the air, and he felt the cold right to the base of his lungs. The storm was rolling in fast.
“Let's go, then.” Jimmy said, as though reading his mind. Kougu nodded in agreement, pressing on a little faster. "We're almost there." he said, squinting through the driving snow ahead, "Then we just have to wait out the storm, and..." He trailed off. It was pointless to say 'You'll be fine'. He couldn't promise that. Although that particular shortcoming was frustrating enough to make him want to drive a rusty nail through the roof of his mouth. ((Geez, Dude, graphic much? o_0 Drama queen.))
“Jesus, that was scary.” Jimmy muttered beside him, startling Kougu's thoughts back to the present. He glanced at Jimmy, blinking in surprise. Of course it had been terrifying, but regardless of the mortal peril they'd faced, Kougu hadn't taken Jimmy as one to so easily admit fear. That took courage of a different kind.
“I forgot you could get stuff like that in America.”
"It's an unforgiving place," Kougu agreed quietly, "And Grizzlies are the least of it." He nodded ahead, to where the black gash of the cave-mouth was just visible through the snow. "We're here." He stopped, and shrugged his arm off from around Jimmy's shoulders. "Wait a moment."
Not wasting words as usual, Kougu fished a torch from his packpack and flicked it on, then prowled cautiously into the cave, duckind under the low entrance. He had to turn sideways to get in, but it was more spacious inside. In fact, he could stand upright quite comfortably. As the beam of his torch traced the ceiling, a cluster of bats squawked and fluttered out in a clamour of wingbeats, but aside from that, the cave was deserted. It was warm, sheltered from the wind.
Taking a deep breath, he turned back to the entrance, and nodded to Jimmy. "Have a sit-down." he advised quietly, "You'll need it. I'll-"  He gestured vaguely toward the entrance, then passed Jimmy to step back outside. Rolling his stiff shoulders, he crouched down, and began scooping up armloads of snow with his frozen, aching fingers. He piled it up in the entrance to the cave, building a shelter from the wind and snow outside. Snow may have been cold, but somehow, the shelter it gave was surprisingly warm. It was how the Eskimos survived, after all. He had learned about it as a child.
Shivering, he scooped up another armload, and carried on until there was just enough space for him to slip inside. The barricade was surprisingly helpful in blocking the wind, but Kougu's hands had turned blue, and though they trembled violently, he couldn't feel his fingers. He swallowed anxiously, and hid them in his pockets, then crouched down on the floor, and began looking through his backpack. They would need a fire, for starters. Luckily, there were some dead creepers and even a few sticks scattered around the cave, so Kougu gathered them up, and a few matches later, set a small fire burning. He worked in silence, struggling with his clumsy fingers, and never so much as looked at Jimmy. He couldn't stand seeing the ramifications of his failure staring him right in the eye... Just the thought made him sick.
The fire crackled, and Kougu glanced toward it, blowing on it to keep it alive. It was burning brightly now, and no longer proved a suitable excuse to hold his attention. Instead, he looked through his bag  until he found a blanket, then tossed it to Jimmy.
"Here." He said, "You've got to keep warm." He clenched his teeth to keep them from chattering, feeling like the world's biggest hypocrite. Still, he couldn't let Jimmy go into shock. Not in a blizzard, in sub-zero temperatures, in the middle of bloody nowhere.
"How do you feel?" He asked, sitting down at last at the opposite end of their little cave, "Are you still nauseous? How's the arm-?" He stopped himself before he could ask any more questions, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. He couldn't help but worry, but even so, he knew that his concern was nothing but a pain to Jimmy. They were barely even friends. To him, Kougu was just the bastard who dragged him to his death on a wild goose chase in the mountains... Just the thought was enough to make his stomach churn with guilt.

The hike up to the small cave seemed to take forever, but eventually they both got there before the storm hit full blast. Jimmy cursed with his relief.
“Wait here.” Kougu ordered.
Jimmy nodded. He knew what this man was doing, and he was in a much better state than Jimmy to do it, anyway. If there was anything dangerous in there, be it people or any other unwanted mountain animal, Jimmy was in no state to fight it off. So he waited in the snow, shrinking into himself to try and keep his body warm, and didn't move until Kougu assured him it was safe to enter.
The cave was dark, but he'd been expecting that. It was also surprisingly warm for a room of stone, and with a decent light source it was less spooky, even with a few bats resting above their heads. Jimmy had no problem with bats, as long as they didn't try attack him or sh*t on his head. He didn't look at them, but instead sad on the floor, cross-legged and clutched his arm protectively close to him. He was glad that he'd remembered to wear gloves, because he could feel the fingers poking out of his bandaged hand were colder than usual, probably because the bandage had warmed his arm up, despite the wounds.
He sat there obediently as Kougu blocked the cave entrance, although since it was a fairly narrow crack it didn't take much to block it, but when Kougu returned Jimmy felt a wave of guilt running through him. Here he was, letting Kougu tend to him like a mother to a sick child, and he wasn't doing anything in return. What an idiot. Yes, he'd come to America when Kougu had told him there was no guarantee of him coming back alive, but he wasn't exactly defenceless. He shouldn't have let someone else worry about him when in situations like this it was supposed to be 'every man for himself'. He owed Kougu at least one good deed.
Finally Kougu came back and began to tend to a fire. He didn't seem to be up for conversation whilst he was busy with that, so Jimmy waited until it was a reasonable size and strength before having a conversation with the man. Kougu seemed to have the same idea.
“Here. You've got to keep warm.” Kougu insisted, tossing Jimmy a blanket. Jimmy caught it with his good hand, and studied the material. Fleece. Perfect for keeping the heat.
But he didn't want it. Kougu had done enough already.
He was about to say so, when he was showered with questions about his own well being. Rolling his eyes, Jimmy just ignored them and tossed the blanket back in Kougu's direction.
“You keep warm.” He replied firmly, then nodded to Kougu's hands. “You don't have any gloves on, do you? Idiot.” He reached over to snatch Kougu's bag from him, and began rummaging shamelessly around for supplies. There were some basic camping necessities, some thin rope, a waterproof in a tiny bag, and several bottles of water.. But Jimmy was more interested in the small metal mug. He pulled it out, grabbed his own bottle of water and poured the remains into the mug. He then held it over the fire with a gloved hand and released a sigh. It would take at least half an hour for it to even go warm, what with the strength of the fire and the low temperature of the water, which had been minutes away from freezing completely.
“Trust me.” He assured Kougu. “I know what I'm doing.”
The way Kougu was going he'd lose his fingers before they got there. And frankly, Jimmy's own fingers were going cold under his gloves, which were thinner than usual mountaineering gloves.
“Why don't you get something to eat, whilst we're here? After what happened to me, I'm certainly not letting you faint right under my nose, Mister. You're the only one who knows what this geezer looks like. Besides... I've always wanted a mate who's a ninja.”
He lowered the scarf from his face, to reveal a grateful little smile. It was true, and he'd admitted it to Amelia a few days ago. Kougu was his friend, and although they weren't all that close, they shared a mutual understanding of one another. Not to mention Charlie... It was amazing how that girl had brought them together, opposites turned into friends, when over six months ago they'd hated each other's guts.
“A dead ninja is no use to me, anyway. I wouldn't be able to have a go on your samurai sword if you're not there to tell me where it is.”

“You keep warm.” Jimmy shot back firmly, tossing the blanket back in his direction. Kougu caught it clumsily.
“You don't have any gloves on, do you?" He glanced down at is hands, turning rapidly blue and trembling violently. He couldn't even feel them.
"Idiot.”
He nearly laughed at this comment. He couldn't have said it better himself.
"I can't shoot in gloves." He explained with a shrug, "It seemed like a good idea at the time." Idiot indeed.
He turned the blanket over in his hands a few times, gnawing thoughtfully on the inside of his cheek. He really wished that Jimmy would just take it, but he had a feeling that in a war of stubbornness, the other man would almost certainly win. And he was close to freezing. The way he was shaking, he'd probably be exhausted within an hour. So, shrugging, he wrapped the blanket around himself, shivering gratefully at the extra warmth. "Thanks." He murmured softly, his eyes following Jimmy's hands as they scratched through his pack, soon pulling out a metal mug, and filling it with water. When he held it over the fire, Kougu nodded in understanding. Jimmy was right; he couldn't afford frostbite. 
“Trust me.” The other man told him confidently, “I know what I'm doing.”
"You do." Kougu agreed with a nod, rubbing his hands together under the blanket. He still couldn't feel them; he only knew that they hurt. Badly. 
“Why don't you get something to eat, whilst we're here?" Jimmy suggested, and Kougu looked up, considering him with cautious suspicion, as though certain he'd gone completely mad. Him? Eat? At a time like this?
"After what happened to me, I'm certainly not letting you faint right under my nose, Mister. You're the only one who knows what this geezer looks like. Besides... I've always wanted a mate who's a ninja."
He was about to tell Jimmy that he was nuts if he thought they were still going to climb up a whole bloody mountain looking for Sam while his arm was as punctured as a bicycle tyre that had driven over a porcupine, but when he heard the word 'mate', he stopped, tilting his head curiously to one side. He had become fairly certain that Jimmy didn't consider him a friend... To hear otherwise was a reward he didn't deserve...
Feeling some warmth quickly flush back to his cheeks, he looked away, secretly touched. 
“A dead ninja is no use to me, anyway." Jimmy joked, "I wouldn't be able to have a go on your samurai sword if you're not there to tell me where it is.”
At last, a quiet chuckle escaped his lips, and he shook his head in amusement at the thought of Jimmy taking up a samurai sword. With fists raised or behind a gun, Jimmy was a force to be reckoned with, but somehow Kougu just couldn't picture him having the finesse to swing a sword.
"That would be a tragedy." He agreed at last, a faint smile curving his lips. He supposed, maybe, that he could take a break from feeling guilty, just for a while. Jimmy didn't seem to blame him, after all.
"Okay," He stood up, wincing as his frozen leg muscles stretched painfully, and hobbled over to Jimmy, sliding down the wall of the cave beside him, and taking up the backpack. He pulled it open, and began digging through the contents, until at last he managed to locate a pair of energy bars, and some cellophane-wrapped sandwiches. "Here," He offered Jimmy one of each, and kept the others for himself. One thing he could say for the cold; it certainly helped one's appetite.
"This is all I brought." He admitted, shrugging, "Probably a bad idea in hindsight, but I didn't expect we'd be stuck here..." He rubbed his head awkwardly, causing his hair to stick up untidily on the side. It was no wonder it always looked a mess, what with him pulling at it all the time.
He heaved a deep sigh, then opened the wrapper on his energy bar, and forced himself to take a bite. He was still struggling to get into a habit of eating as much as he was technically supposed to, after years of negligence.
"I wonder how long the storm will last..." He murmured as he swallowed his mouthful. Then, looking back at Jimmy, "How's your arm doing? If you start feeling feverish, you'd better tell me. I won't let you get infected up here."

Jimmy was glad to receive a faintly human response to his poor teasing, and even surprised himself when he noticed Kougu smiling slightly. He hadn't seen Kougu do that often, although he probably did it plentifully with Charlie, and he guessed in these circumstances there was rarely anything to smile at. But still, he felt himself smiling wider when he saw a tiny spark of light in Kougu's eyes. Perhaps if this guy tried; if he smiled more, bulked up a bit and learnt how to socialise he'd turn into quite an attractive guy.
“That would be a tragedy.” Kougu agreed, chuckling quietly. Then, something must have occurred to him, because he shuffled around to his bag – which was now at Jimmy's side – and pulled out a pair of energy bars and something wrapped in cellophane.
Food.
Jimmy's stomach rumbled. It may have lurched a moment ago but he was glad to see something more filling than chocolate.
Kougu handed them to him and he accepted them gratefully, fumbling around with his gloved hands as he struggled to unwrap the sandwiches. “This is all I brought.” Kougu admitted. “Probably a bad idea in hindsight, but I didn't expect we'd be stuck here...”
Jimmy shrugged. He really didn't care. Now he was hungry, and he had food. So he was happy, and that was all he was interested in at that moment.
He stuffed half the sandwich down in one bite, and closed his eyes to relish the feeling of his stomach being filled. He looked like he was in heaven.
For a few minutes the two ate in silence. Kougu said something about how long the storm would last, but Jimy wasn't prepared to talk until he'd finished his sandwiches. After that, he picked up the mug again and held it under the fire. He'd be able to open the energy bar with his teeth if need's be.
“How's your arm doing? If you start feeling feverish, you'd better tell me. I won't let you get infected up here.”
“Is that a threat?” Jimmy asked half heartedly, his eyes twinkling. It was evident he was only joking. “Don't worry, it's fine for now. Hurts like hell...” He glanced down at it, as if he could see the wounds through his sleeve and bandage. But then he shrugged, as if 'hurts like hell' was a normal thing to him.
“Besides...” Foolishly, he tried to use his bad hand to pick up the energy bar, and ended up nearly dropping the mug of water in the process. Swearing, he set the mug on the floor and used his well hand and his mouth to open it up, and nibbled on the edge of the bar with a sulky expression.
“Besides,” he said again. “My arm probably isn't going to drop off. Your hands could if you're not careful.” He nodded to Kougu's hands, then took another bite. Jimmy may have seemed like a selfish, sometimes childish human being, but when it came to Kougu, he would never forget the debt he owed him. As much as many would look at it, even coming to America and living with the odds that he may never see his family again, Jimmy still felt he owed Kougu something. He was doing what Kougu had promised to do a week ago, and for looking after Charlie, caring for her when Jimmy had never even been capable of that.
Once he'd finished the energy bar, Jimmy picked the mug up again and began warming the water up. Once it started steaming he'd take it away from the fire. The warmer the better.
“So Kougu,” Jimmy began, staring wih vague interest into the water as it rippled whenever his hand shook. “How do you know this 'president Noah'? How do you know he's such a pig before he's even done anything?”

“Is that a threat?” Jimmy teased, but Kougu just stared at him blankly, obviously not quite getting it. "No," He shrugged, "It's a promise."
Not that those count for much any more, coming from me. He sighed at the thought, and took another small bite from his energy bar. 
“Don't worry, it's fine for now." Jimmy assured him, glancing at his arm, "Hurts like hell...”
"I can imagine." He murmured, his own eyes flicking down to the white bandage. There was no blood seeping through yet; that was a good sign. "You can probably have another painkiller after two hours."
Jimmy ignored this, too busy battling with the wrapper on his energy bar,  and Kougu watched awkwardly as he struggled to open it. Half of him wanted to offer to help, but he knew all too well that doing so would insult Jimmy beyond compare. There was nothing worse than making a man feel helpless, no matter how injured he was. Especially a proud man like Jimmy. He took another bite of his own bar, only half listening as Jimmy mentioned something about his hands dropping off. He wasn't particularly interested in what might happen to him. He would be fine; it was a murphy's law. The man who wants to live forever will drop dead before twenty, but the man who'd sooner die than live to see another day will live to see a hundred. As for Kougu, he was expecting to find himself waltzing into the year 3000 as fit as a fiddle. Life was just cruel like that. 
He forced down the last bite of energy bar, then put his sandwich away for later. He was full, anyway. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Jimmy heating the water in the mug again, and couldn't help but feel a little touched. After Jimmy's general moodiness since they'd arrived, he was surprised to see such a caring gesture from the man, and it meant a lot to him. He had been beginning to think that Jimmy was just in this for the free car, but now, he was starting to wonder if they were perhaps friends after all. He couldn't lie, the idea did appeal to him. Even if he didn't know him all that well, Jimmy was quickly becoming like an older brother to Kougu... That long-needed male role model that he'd never had, forcing him to toughen up and look after himself a little. In fact, the longer he spent in Jimmy's presence, the more confident he became. It was as if it was contagious...
 
“So Kougu,” Jimmy said at last, pulling Kougu out of his thoughts. He looked up, frowning slightly. Something about Jimmy's casual demeanour seemed a little off... He had a feeling he wouldn't like what was coming next, and he was right.
“How do you know this 'president Noah'? How do you know he's such a pig before he's even done anything?”
He took a deep breath, then released it in a heavy sigh, shaking his head. "Usually I wouldn't say anything..." He confessed, frowning at the ground, "But I suppose since we're in this together, I have to tell you." He didn't seem particularly pleased by the prospect, and for a while he just stared at the fire, slowly steeling himself. Then, "He's my father. Or one of his aliases, anyway. And if you think I'm mad," He uttered a grim chuckle, shaking his head, "Well, he's out of his goddamn mind. Honestly, I don't think there's any humanity left in him at all. He fancies himself a God, or a Devil, maybe. It all amounts to the same thing..." He began fiddling with his numb fingers absentmindedly, then stopped himself before he could snap one off. "That's the main reason I called you out here. I can't kill him." He shrugged, "I don't know why, I just can't do it. But somebody has to, otherwise he's going to throw the whole world out of sync. And believe me, he has the power. He had it long before this presidency scam."