Chapter One : Because of the Rain
Ikkaku cursed mentally as he pushed open the door of the shack. OK, sure, he was lucky to have found this misery of a hut just as the rain was starting to pour, but with just a bit more luck, he could have made it to the village over the hill. Now he was condemned to spending a cold, lonely and hungry night when he could have had warm food, a bed and some company. Unlucky, really.
The light was so low due to the hour and the thunderstorm that he really couldn't see much once inside the shack. But then, it didn't seem like there was much to see anyway. The room was bare, except for what looked like a pile of rags in one corner. At least, though, it was reasonably dry, with only a half-dozen small leaks, mostly in the center of the roof. Stepping around the pool they were starting to form, he went straight for the pile of rags. He was cold, and if enough of his luck was still with him, he might find some sort of cover to roll himself into. As he was reaching for the pile, though, he clearly saw the rags move, and he withdrew his hand in disgust. If there were rats around here, then the rags would most probably be infested with fleas, and he wasn't desperate enough to spend the night with the little bloodsuckers. He was about to turn around, when he heard a sound coming from the pile of rags that definitely didn't have anything to do with rats - or at least, he'd never heard of rats coughing.
He reached for the rags again, grabbed a handful of material, and pulled. Something tried to pull back, but they were no match for Ikkaku, and off the cover went, revealing the unmistakable form of a rolled-up human child. Even in the dim light, Ikkaku could clearly make out a small pale face looking up at him, and a pair of skinny naked arms holding two thin naked legs. The kid had apparently been sleeping and had just been woken up by Ikkaku taking off his cover. They stared at each other for a second, before the kid got on his feet in a swift quick move and made for the door. Ikkaku's reflexes kicked in before he had time to think, and he grabbed the child around the waist as he was trying to run past him. The little body was thin and looked frail, but Ikkaku quickly discovered that it was also surprisingly strong, and that the child knew how to use his fists, feet and knees. Ikkaku yelled out as an elbow found his nose:
" Oi!! Heh, calm down, kid, I'm not gonna hurt ya! "
" Let me go!"
" Calm down! "
" Let! Me! GO! "
This wasn't working. The more Ikkaku tried to convince the kid to relax, the more he writhed and lashed out. Annoyed and getting thoroughly confused, Ikkaku did the only other thing that came to his mind: he banged his forehead into the kid's head, hard, effectively knocking him out. He had a vague impression that he had just failed some cosmic "Dealing with children – The basics" test, but he didn't care: he'd gotten the results he wanted, that was all that mattered. Ruefully, he dragged the child back to his corner, covered him again with the ragged cover, and sat down next to him.