Drabble // Bleach // Raising Yachiru // Winter Days
Title :: Winter Days
Setting :: Bleach
Series :: Raising Yachiru
Characters :: Yachiru, Kenpachi
Words :: 1193
Related Stories :: Teething Pains, Learning New Tricks, First Words
Words :: snow, doll, frozen, by cymry
"Ken-chaaaaan!"
The cry reverberated through the empty, hollow cabin they'd found during the darkest hours of the previous night, after trudging through a freak blizzard for a touch too long to Yachiru's taste. The respite from the howling wind hadn't really been for Kenpachi's sake, rather than for the small sniffling babe huddled in his arms with a wide-eyed, unhappy look. The snowflakes had been fun at first and the wind a delight, but the biting cold had eventually worn through Yachiru's enchantment, turning smiles into pouts and laughter into chattering teeth.
"Ken-chan!" His name was said in a sharper way this time and Kenpachi finally decided he'd made her wait long enough - all of five seconds, but that was a detail and that he'd decided to make her wait was the point here. Looking up from the small fire he'd gotten going at one point after they'd found refuge, Kenpachi grunted in acknowledgement, the muffled tinkling of the bell he wore around his neck spoiling the rough sound not one bit. Because Kenpachi had made it and there wasn't a bell in creation which would affect that in any way, shape or form.
Yachiru clapped her hands and shook her head, pink wisps of hair waving to and fro and standing up on end once she was done, making her look like an impish ragamuffin. Or rather, even more of an impish ragamuffin. Kenpachi snorted at her, reaching out to smooth her hair only to pause in mid motion as static electricity greeted him with a hungry snap, much to Yachiru's satisfaction. More clapping ensued as the dreaded static monster created bright sparks on Kenpachi's hand.
"Che. Brat. Ya got me." He clapped a hand to his heart and then collapsed in slow motion, lips quirking madly at the shrieks of laughter this gesture produced. It was not a game he played often, but... they were in an enclosed space during the tail end of a blizzard. It wasn't as though anyone would see, other than the one who would appreciate it the most.
Yachiru wriggled out of her blanket, her bright and flowery kimono standing out with sudden sharpness against the aged gloom of the cabin. With a frown and a very swift pounce, Kenpachi caught her before she could scurry outside, wrapping her roughly back in the blanket until only her eyes could be seen. And two sets of extremities, both equally muffled in the wraps the Kimono Woman had made for the girl. She had a name, Kenpachi was certain. The brief sight of the woman's husband about to call out to her when they'd first arrived in the village had hinted as much, but he'd not seen hair nor hide of the man since they'd arrived, not once, nor much of anyone else. It made him wonder what a woman who would stand in his presence was doing with a man who would not, but it wasn't any of his business and he had Yachiru to think of. Yachiru, who was smiling with glee at being wrapped up so, or so he assumed from the ways her eyes were all crinkled up cute-like, waving her arms and hopping up and down steadily in the direction of the door with all the purpose she could muster.
The howling wind had finally abated outside and Kenpachi opened the door, snickering as the snow piled up outside cascaded within and covered Yachiru up to her eyeballs, drawing a loud squeak from beneath the layers of clothing she was wrapped in. The pink spot trapped in the snow bounced up and down once more, with demanding meeps breaking through the cloth, but Kenpachi finished clearing the door before he extricated her from the improvised Yachiru net and chucked her outside into a snow drift (the cascade of giggles showed her approval of the situation) to explore the area while he made certain that he'd properly finished the task he'd been tending to earlier.
He stalked outside and down the path, surveying the pristine landscape with a suspicious look. Eventually he reached the ambush area which had turned out to be anything but, and nodded to himself, noting how the snow had covered the bodies of the bandits he'd killed. He'd have to tell the Kimono Woman to send some of the village men up when things thawed, to bury the bodies. Not that he cared - in fact, leaving them to be picked cleaned by the wild things worked fine for him, but the woman had been insistent to the point of driving him to distraction so he'd agreed just to shut her up. He hacked a branch from a tree and planted it in the ground, wrapping a bit of cloth on it to mark the spot and then turned around on his heel to head back towards the abandoned hut and the Yachiru snowball that would likely be rolling about happily.
As soon as she saw him, Yachiru squealed and waved to get his attention. She wasn't playing in the snow, as he'd expected her to be, but rather had headed for the small lake nearby. She'd cleared an area of snow from the frozen waters' surface somehow and had been skidding around, from what he could tell, until something had caught her attention.
"Ken-chan! Doll!"
She stuck her nose millimetres away from the ice and managed to not stick her tongue out (she'd learned that lesson quickly yet for some reason which defied Kenpachi's comprehension, still forgot at times) and waited for him to arrive. Once he stood by her on the thick ice, Yachiru looked up to give him a pleading look, hoping he'd get the toy out of the ice for her, but instead she was greeted by a sombre, veiled expression. Kenpachi slowly crouched down beside her, though he didn't lean down to look closer.
"That ain't a doll, Yachiru," Kenpachi said, softly.
Silence reigned for a moment as they stared at the small frozen hand under the ice, Yachiru's smile slowly fading. She struggled with blanket and cloth and freed up one small hand, holding it up in the sunlight to stare at it, and then placed it down on the ice, above the one buried deep under the ice.
"Bai bai," she murmured softly, hesitantly, before looking up at Kenpachi once more.
"Yeah." Kenpachi leaned down and picked her up, wrapping her hand up carefully while not scolding her about catching cold and her fingers all falling off, for once, even if no one was around to see him be a nag. He headed off towards the path and the village, never looking back once. At least he could also confirm the Kimono Woman's worries and let her know that the people who had lived here had likely fallen prey to the bandits, before the winter struck so harshly. Yachiru squirmed a bit in his grasp, enough so that she could peek over his shoulder as they walked away, staring at the patch of ice in the river until it was only a small, winking spot of light in the white landscape surrounding them.
Setting :: Bleach
Series :: Raising Yachiru
Characters :: Yachiru, Kenpachi
Words :: 1193
Related Stories :: Teething Pains, Learning New Tricks, First Words
Words :: snow, doll, frozen, by cymry
"Ken-chaaaaan!"
The cry reverberated through the empty, hollow cabin they'd found during the darkest hours of the previous night, after trudging through a freak blizzard for a touch too long to Yachiru's taste. The respite from the howling wind hadn't really been for Kenpachi's sake, rather than for the small sniffling babe huddled in his arms with a wide-eyed, unhappy look. The snowflakes had been fun at first and the wind a delight, but the biting cold had eventually worn through Yachiru's enchantment, turning smiles into pouts and laughter into chattering teeth.
"Ken-chan!" His name was said in a sharper way this time and Kenpachi finally decided he'd made her wait long enough - all of five seconds, but that was a detail and that he'd decided to make her wait was the point here. Looking up from the small fire he'd gotten going at one point after they'd found refuge, Kenpachi grunted in acknowledgement, the muffled tinkling of the bell he wore around his neck spoiling the rough sound not one bit. Because Kenpachi had made it and there wasn't a bell in creation which would affect that in any way, shape or form.
Yachiru clapped her hands and shook her head, pink wisps of hair waving to and fro and standing up on end once she was done, making her look like an impish ragamuffin. Or rather, even more of an impish ragamuffin. Kenpachi snorted at her, reaching out to smooth her hair only to pause in mid motion as static electricity greeted him with a hungry snap, much to Yachiru's satisfaction. More clapping ensued as the dreaded static monster created bright sparks on Kenpachi's hand.
"Che. Brat. Ya got me." He clapped a hand to his heart and then collapsed in slow motion, lips quirking madly at the shrieks of laughter this gesture produced. It was not a game he played often, but... they were in an enclosed space during the tail end of a blizzard. It wasn't as though anyone would see, other than the one who would appreciate it the most.
Yachiru wriggled out of her blanket, her bright and flowery kimono standing out with sudden sharpness against the aged gloom of the cabin. With a frown and a very swift pounce, Kenpachi caught her before she could scurry outside, wrapping her roughly back in the blanket until only her eyes could be seen. And two sets of extremities, both equally muffled in the wraps the Kimono Woman had made for the girl. She had a name, Kenpachi was certain. The brief sight of the woman's husband about to call out to her when they'd first arrived in the village had hinted as much, but he'd not seen hair nor hide of the man since they'd arrived, not once, nor much of anyone else. It made him wonder what a woman who would stand in his presence was doing with a man who would not, but it wasn't any of his business and he had Yachiru to think of. Yachiru, who was smiling with glee at being wrapped up so, or so he assumed from the ways her eyes were all crinkled up cute-like, waving her arms and hopping up and down steadily in the direction of the door with all the purpose she could muster.
The howling wind had finally abated outside and Kenpachi opened the door, snickering as the snow piled up outside cascaded within and covered Yachiru up to her eyeballs, drawing a loud squeak from beneath the layers of clothing she was wrapped in. The pink spot trapped in the snow bounced up and down once more, with demanding meeps breaking through the cloth, but Kenpachi finished clearing the door before he extricated her from the improvised Yachiru net and chucked her outside into a snow drift (the cascade of giggles showed her approval of the situation) to explore the area while he made certain that he'd properly finished the task he'd been tending to earlier.
He stalked outside and down the path, surveying the pristine landscape with a suspicious look. Eventually he reached the ambush area which had turned out to be anything but, and nodded to himself, noting how the snow had covered the bodies of the bandits he'd killed. He'd have to tell the Kimono Woman to send some of the village men up when things thawed, to bury the bodies. Not that he cared - in fact, leaving them to be picked cleaned by the wild things worked fine for him, but the woman had been insistent to the point of driving him to distraction so he'd agreed just to shut her up. He hacked a branch from a tree and planted it in the ground, wrapping a bit of cloth on it to mark the spot and then turned around on his heel to head back towards the abandoned hut and the Yachiru snowball that would likely be rolling about happily.
As soon as she saw him, Yachiru squealed and waved to get his attention. She wasn't playing in the snow, as he'd expected her to be, but rather had headed for the small lake nearby. She'd cleared an area of snow from the frozen waters' surface somehow and had been skidding around, from what he could tell, until something had caught her attention.
"Ken-chan! Doll!"
She stuck her nose millimetres away from the ice and managed to not stick her tongue out (she'd learned that lesson quickly yet for some reason which defied Kenpachi's comprehension, still forgot at times) and waited for him to arrive. Once he stood by her on the thick ice, Yachiru looked up to give him a pleading look, hoping he'd get the toy out of the ice for her, but instead she was greeted by a sombre, veiled expression. Kenpachi slowly crouched down beside her, though he didn't lean down to look closer.
"That ain't a doll, Yachiru," Kenpachi said, softly.
Silence reigned for a moment as they stared at the small frozen hand under the ice, Yachiru's smile slowly fading. She struggled with blanket and cloth and freed up one small hand, holding it up in the sunlight to stare at it, and then placed it down on the ice, above the one buried deep under the ice.
"Bai bai," she murmured softly, hesitantly, before looking up at Kenpachi once more.
"Yeah." Kenpachi leaned down and picked her up, wrapping her hand up carefully while not scolding her about catching cold and her fingers all falling off, for once, even if no one was around to see him be a nag. He headed off towards the path and the village, never looking back once. At least he could also confirm the Kimono Woman's worries and let her know that the people who had lived here had likely fallen prey to the bandits, before the winter struck so harshly. Yachiru squirmed a bit in his grasp, enough so that she could peek over his shoulder as they walked away, staring at the patch of ice in the river until it was only a small, winking spot of light in the white landscape surrounding them.