There's an artist on twitter that likes Shigure so much to the point that ninety percent of his fanart collectively comes from that artist (I wish I were exaggerating). A particular image she's drawn inspired this next scenario. I should confess that I treat a good piece of fanart like gold, the image folder is my cart, and pixiv is the mine. In other words, my gains would probably be more fruitful if people didn't delete their works so frequently. Come on. Who does that?
Thanks for reading, and please review, your thoughts go a long way.
Word Count: 2298 words.
.03 - Shigure and Bunnies
"Ahh! It's so cute and fluffy!"
"Most tend to be, yes."
Kana had been infatuated as soon as she laid her eyes upon it. Hastier people would call it love at first sight, but Shigure would sooner call it her way of passing time on a day of respite. Either way, she was fine as long as she wasn't in any 'immediate danger', harmless really.
Or so that's what their father claimed. He was a little soft on her, and it wasn't hard to see why. Admittedly speaking though, Shigure was the same way (he had to wonder at times if it was inherited, just how far did the apple fall from the tree?). Be it learned or instinct, he was quite mindful of her, regularly keeping an eye on her antics, and always on her trail whenever she devised a particularly hazardous design. Any scrapes or bruises picked up along the way were usually patched up by his gentle hand before anyone could find out, and in that time he gathered that he rather liked the idea of being a role model to her. Kana was far from the perfect muse, but she didn't need to be. He was an artist—some would say the best in the army—and he knew he would mold her into something great one day.
"So it followed you back, big brother?" she asked mid-pet, finally taking her bright, mesmerized eyes away from it to look up at him.
"It would seem so," he answered with a cool shrug, only to shift his gaze aside and add a disclaimer. "Not that I intended on it. I tried to send it on its way, but it's kind of.."
Its ears jerked.
Shigure came to a stop at that, breath hitched. The word was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't quite articulate it in a way she wouldn't misconstrue to his dismay. As far as he was aware, their parents had yet to teach her about it.
Kana tilted her head, curious and a little eager at a chance to hear more of his sagely wisdom. "Kinda..?"
"Erm.. 'Imprinted'.." he stressed, uncertain if that was even the right word for it. "Which is to say that it grew an, ahem.. 'sentimental attachment' to-"
"It thinks you're its mama!"
. . .
The young man placed his hands on his knees and exhaled deeply (she could be a handful at times).
"And where did you learn that from?" he asked calmly.
She was quick to answer, and with a little hop no less. "Midori! She knows a lot about caring for others!"
"I figured that was the case.."
"Yeah! She even told me she was a cert.. certif.. certifried expert! Big brother is a mother now, just like mother! Big brother is a big mother!"
"Mm. I'm going to pretend I hadn't heard that.." Shigure mumbled with a shudder. He was by no means one to offend others, but herb-dealing tykes weren't exactly reputable sources, especially ones he had to bend over to meet at eye level. His eyes darted from Kana to the small hare, and he noted how it seemed to be in a hurry to slip away from her now that she was distracted. In no time at all, it was back by his side, nuzzling his leg fondly. It had a preference, and that preference lied with him.
He couldn't fault the poor thing for having good taste, at least.
Regrettably, the breather wasn't by any means permanent. Kana returned focus to the mammal before long and reveled in adoration as she stroked its puffy, fluffy fur. "Ahh! So if it doesn't wanna leave big brother, then that means it gets to stay with me!" she grinned from ear to ear, whereas the hare trembled in comic fear.
Another thing Shigure came to learn about himself was that he was growing increasingly lenient towards her risky behavior as of late, with only light reprimanding where necessary. In truth, it kind of worried him, and he came to the logical conclusion that Kana was contagious, though with what, he couldn't say.
"Er, Kana—"
In that moment, Shigure resolved to treat himself of his sibling-induced malady. He had a mind to chide her (it was an innate compulsion honestly) and was seconds away from doing so, but found himself stopped by an unconscious restraint. He caught sight of that unmistakable look in her eye, the way it gleamed as she cuddled with her unwilling soulmate, the sheer giddiness radiating from her person. It was evident that she had already developed an attachment to the bunny, and he wasn't sure if he had the heart to sever that sort of bond.
Not directly, anyhow.
Having heard his concern, Kana froze in an instant (much to the bunny's relief), there was a catch, an obstacle in the way. The joy and glee were all but drained from her face and replaced with worry. Words alone couldn't emphasize how much she hated those contraries, the 'buts', the 'yets', the 'howevers'. Every time her brother would utter any one of them it seemed to serve only to rain on her fun parade. He'd always tell her it was for the greater good, but she lived for the 'now' and according to the now it was anything but good.
Kana's smile lingered for only a little longer before vanishing, replaced with a frown hesitant to press him on. "Big brother.. W-We can keep it, right?"
Shigure gulped. He hadn't a clue how she was capable of successfully guilt-tripping him like that every time, it was an enigma, and if there was a competition for it she would surely take gold. As he racked his mind for a way to break the news to her, he became drawn to the rabbit. Its twitched its whiskers and stared at him too, still preferring him over the girl that was keeping him hostage. "Well, there isn't anything physically stopping us.." he mumbled.
She beamed very slightly, and he almost regretted telling her that because of the false hope it would give her. Personally speaking, he didn't completely object to the idea, the opportunity was there and truth be told he shared much of her aspiration for taking care of a pint-sized critter. It was no secret to the army that Shigure was very fond of wildlife (he owns a flying horse for gods' sake), and this affinity stretched to the point that he would venture from the castle to a small clearing whenever on break and actually talk to them, and often consider altering his own thoughts and viewpoints based on what they told him. To him, this talent was a gift, and their responses were informative, intelligent, and sometimes even deeply philosophical.
To everyone else, he looked like a dandy young man holding pointless discussions with any squeaky little diseased rodent he could hope to get his mitts on, and Kana frequently found herself trying to assure the gossiping militia that the heir to the Vallite throne was almost certainly not delirious.
The fact of the matter remained though, Shigure enjoyed their company as much as they enjoyed his, and under any other circumstance would he fondly jump at the chance to look after one of them.
"But,"
Therein lied the problem, which he illustrated to her in a soft tone after she stopped visibly cringing. "You have to remember that our campaign comes first, and I'd rather not subject our friend to warfare. All this conflict, the hostility and violence.. It's done nothing to deserve it, and I believe you can agree with that."
She could, she very well could, but that didn't make it an easy task. Kana sulked and looked at her woolly companion, squeezing it a little closer. "Hmph..."
"I know how you feel, believe me, I'd have a zoo if I could. But we fight for a reason, the world we're working towards is one of peace, one where we don't have to raise our weapons against anyone. I'm aware it feels like an unending struggle at times, but I also know that we're able to handle its effects. I can't in good conscience take it along with us, knowing that it would have to suffer the same process."
Kana nodded, understanding but dejected nonetheless. It was another one of those greater good scenarios, set-up exactly the way she feared it would be. She sighed, accepting the fact that she would have to say goodbye to her new friend sooner rather than never.
"However—"
"Ughh!" she opted to groan loudly this time instead of sigh, he wasn't finished. That was two contraries in a row, a rare occurrence in of itself (as if one wasn't already bad enough). Kana was close to waterworks, feeling like a girl ridden with despair, and she wondered if she had done something wrong to deserve this.
"Ahem.." Shigure cleared his throat, a little moody that he had been so rudely interrupted. "As I was saying," he continued, roping her back into reality and away from melodrama. "The day isn't over and.. It's not as if anything is going on right now.. It may not be able to accompany us, but if you'd like I suppose we can-"
"Really?!"
All that exaggerated melancholy and sorrow seemed to wash away in a snap as Kana made a triumphant return back to life, setting the hare down and nearly pouncing Shigure in all her excitement (though she settled for a hug). "Big brother! You mean it?! You mean it!?"
Taken aback by her bubbly spirit, he held up his hands and stuttered out. "Y-Yes, yes! And please, n-not so tight! It's a hug, not a squeeze—we've been over this!"
"I'll hug you forever and ever if I have to! The best big brothers deserve the bestest and longest hugs!"
"B-Bestest is not a word!"
Once her enthusiasm petered to acceptable levels, the two settled near a bank and bestowed the bunny with the grand, majestic privilege of having the free reign to do whatever its fuzzy little heart desired. Strangely enough, it decided to use that leeway to hop atop Shigure's head. It wasn't the first animal to do it and as long as he upheld his appreciation of wildlife it wouldn't be the last.
He hardly minded though, and even took the time to speak to it and ask how it was doing (common courtesy was the least he could offer after all the cuddling it had to endure). Their banter went on for a while, leaving Kana stuck playing the designated odd woman out throughout, frequently asking her bilingual brother in-between for up-to-date translations. Her comprehension of the animal tongue was still as shallow as could be and intentionally so. Shigure had made an effort on countless occasions to lecture her the way of his self-crafted jargon, only to be met with countless, hasty—usually thought-of-on-the-spot excuses as to why she regrettably could not partake.
Kana had yet to become the dignified lady she was expected to mature into—she was silly as well, there was no denying that, it's just that her brother's tomfoolery was of a whole different breed, a crate of worms that she'd be better off not opening (no matter how many times Shigure insisted it was a genuine dialect).
"What's it saying now, big brother?" she asked, marveling at the hare like a deity of sorts.
"It's making a quip about your hair bun." he answered candidly. "A witty one, too."
"Wh-What?! Tell me, tell me!"
"Sorry, I'm afraid it doesn't translate well," he smiled. "You wouldn't understand it anyway. It's kind of an inside joke."
"Hmph!" she huffed and gave him a pout, prompting him to drop the act before she could get really steamed. "Ah, alright!" he relented, apparently unable to have fun at her expense. "It's actually speaking of our earlier discussion," he said, this time genuine. "As it were, we were right, our little friend's breed isn't exactly one suited for the battleground. More of a spectator variety, as a matter of fact, a lounger type. "
What Kana was supposed to take from that revelation was that her fuzzy acquaintance wouldn't be performing any fantastic tricks or stunts any time soon, so much as lying idly by and pitching the latest in abstract, metaphysical woo (deep, deep stuff).
Instead, she drew to a decidedly more outrageous conclusion.
"Wait! So there are bunnies out there that can fight?!" she exclaimed.
"Eh—!?"
It was certainly one way to look at it.
"And and," she continued, eyes glimmering with a renewed sense of hope. "If we find one of those super bunnies, we can keep it for real! Big brother can be its big mother, and um, I can be its coach! I'll teach it to defend itself!"
"H-Hold on!—" he protested, quite flustered.
"Hey big brother! Do you think if I let a super bunny borrow my Dragonstone, it can turn into a super bunny dragon? Papa's mortal enemies would never stand a chance!"
"You can scarce control your dragon form without the stone and you wonder if giving it away would be a good idea?"
"Then I'll get the super bunny its own special stone then!" declared Kana, who then brought a hand to her chin and began concocting her impractical scheme. "Now we just need to find one.. It could take weeks, months, or even two days and a half! Hmm.. Are there any super bunny sanctuaries you know of, big brother?"
Shigure exhaled for the second time that day (as did the rabbit). He could have danced around the question, perhaps even play along with her, but this time he opted for taking the high road.
"None that are located in this world."
And he was correct, to some extent.
To be continued.. whenever. Sorry, this was silly. Happy Halloween.. Er, missed that self-imposed deadline. Happy.. Day of the Dead (?)
Oh yes, and if you by some stretch of imagination have a prompt of your own in mind, feel free to pitch it my way.
