Disclaimer: I do not own Yotsuba& or any of its characters.

Yotsuba& Lions

Raindrops pattered on top of the rooftop of the Koiwai household. The sky slowly formed into a dark, greyish-blue, as the time had just gone eight in the evening. The weather could easily be described as dreary. The rain, albeit light, did not look like it was going to cease any moment soon. The cold wind, with ever-changing strength, was enough to send anyone into a state of shivers.

Inside the brightly lit living room, Mr Koiwai, Yotsuba and Jumbo (who was a guest for this evening) all sat together on the couch, with Yotsuba being sandwiched in the middle of the two adults. They were watching a nature program which showed many wonderful and colourful animals, each of their type living in their favoured, natural habitat.

"What's that?" Yotsuba asked excitedly, as she pointed at the television screen.

"That's a lion," Mr Koiwai told her, "you saw some at the zoo, remember?"

Yotsuba paused for a moment.

"And what's that one?" she asked again, pointing to a different part of the screen.

"That's a lion as well," said Mr Koiwai.

"But they're different!"

"That's because one is a daddy lion and the other is a mummy lion. Daddy lions have thick manes around their head, and mummy lions... well they don't."

"Ooooooh." Yotsuba's eyes soaked into the screen for a few seconds, before she turned to her father and asked, "Why?"

"Because male lions forget to shave," Jumbo informed, with one raised forefinger.

"Like Jumbo!" Yotsuba joked, as she turned to face the other adult, "Jumbo forgets to shave all the time!"

Jumbo totally walked into that one.

"Haha! Yes! Just like me!" he laughed.

"Does that mean Jumbo is a lion?" the girl asked.

"Um..."

"Because I thought you were a giraffe!"

"I'm a 'girion'!"

"What's that?"

"It's the result of a lion crossbreeding with a giraffe!"

Yotsuba stared at the big man for some time.

"What's crossbreeding?" Yotsuba asked.

Though his eyes were focused on the telly, Mr Koiwai's lips tightened with concern. "Pick your next set of words carefully big man," he thought to himself.

Jumbo scratched his head as he tried to think of a suitable answer, or at least a reply that would make Yotsuba forget about the word 'crossbreeding'.

"Uh... well..."

Fortunately, the program already moved onto its next scene, where two lions were chasing a lone deer on an open field. Yotsuba wrapped her arms around her waist and started to laugh loudly.

"HA HA HA! Look at that! Those lions are playing tag with that deer!" Yotsuba said through chuckles.

"Oh crap," thought Mr Koiwai and Jumbo.

Suddenly, Yotsuba found her world abruptly turning black, and her ears were completely drowned out of sound.

"AH! WHAT'S GOING ON?!" she panicked, waving her arms around, "YOTSUBA CAN'T SEE ANYTHING! YOTSUBA CAN'T HEAR ANYTHING!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU YOTSUBA!" shouted Jumbo, who was covering her ears at the time, "I'VE SUDDENLY GONE DEAF AND BLIND TOO!"

"SO HAVE I!" shouted dad, who was busy covering her eyes, "I SEE NOTHING! I HEAR NOTHING!"

After a short while, Yotsuba found her vision and hearing restored.

"WHAT DID YOU DO THAT FOR-" Yotsuba was about to complain, when she noticed something different about those lions, "Hey... is that strawberry jam coming out of their mouths? And where did that deer go?"

"Uh... the deer got away..." father lied, and Jumbo nodded gravely in agreement.

"Oh... that's too bad..."

Yotsuba continued to watch the program. She was introduced to another scene where a male lion and a female lion were... well... they were...

"HA HA HA HA HA!" she laughed again, "LOOK AT THAT! THAT LION WANTS A PIGGY BACK RIDE!!"

Her father and Jumbo were too late to react this time.

"Y-Yeah..." they replied, very dryly.

Yotsuba continued her state of uncontrollable laughter, whilst the men of the house just stared blankly at the screen. Much to father's disturbance, this particular scene seemed to last the longest compared to the others... at least, that is what it felt like.

Finally the program had come to an end, and just as well, for it was getting past a certain little girl's bedtime. Mr Koiwai stretched his arms and legs to get rid of the stiffness he had sitting in one position.

"Well, come on young lady, time for you to hit the hay," he said, feeling a little tired himself.

"BUT I DON'T WANNA HIT THE HAY! I WANNA PLAY LIONS! I WANNA BE A LION! LET'S ALL BE LIONS!" Yotsuba cheered with a fist raised in the air.

Mr Koiwai and Jumbo gave each other stony looks. Was there no end to this girl's level of stamina?

& & & & &

Wearing a light coat over her causal clothes, Fuuka wrapped herself tightly as she braved the elements outside. Mr Koiwai had lent her a couple of DVDs that she and her family were interested in, and after having them at her house for a week, she decided it was best to give them back. The DVDs were safely tucked inside her coat.

Realising the door was unlocked, Fuuka slowly pushed the handle and allowed herself in the television room.

"Yoohoo! Anyone home?" she called out.

Fuuka took a few steps forward... and froze. Mr Koiwai was on all fours, and Jumbo was standing very closely behind him. Yotsuba was giving out all the instructions; she repeatedly asked Jumbo to give her dad a piggy back ride, a task that was just utterly impossible to perform by any means.

It was that moment when Mr Koiwai and Jumbo noticed the girl next door; Mr Koiwai had a somewhat blank expression, and Jumbo looked at her as if to say 'yeah, so?'

"Heya Fuuka!" Yotsuba greeted with a big wave, "We're playing lions! And Jumbo is the daddy lion and daddy is the mummy lion! You can be the deer!"

"Ah, no! No thank you!" Fuuka politely declined; she then unconsciously turned to face Jumbo.

"ROAR!! ROOOAAAAR!!" bellowed Jumbo, causing Fuuka to freak out a bit more.

Fuuka took a deep breath before recomposing herself. She then marched awkwardly towards Mr Koiwai and placed the DVDs on top of his back... before turning around to march outside again. After Fuuka left the house, Yotsuba did her best detective impersonation as she studied her father.

"Daddy makes a good table..." she thought aloud.

Before her father could protest, Yotsuba rushed upstairs, grabbed a vase of flowers, rushed back downstairs and forcefully plonked the vase on daddy's back.