Now that I'm done with finals I can blindly devote the rest of my numb days to drafting further escapades about the blue, fluffy, stag dragon spawn of this game's preferred matrimony. Isn't life grand? Oh yeah, and Corrin's in Smash. That's great, but please call me when his kids get trophies. There's also some English Fates preview videos up, it's okie dokie so far (Azura is pretty lovely, though I have to admit I've been pronouncing her name wrong this whole time..).

Today we discuss maturity, games, and embarrassing-but-well-meaning fathers.

Thanks for reading, and please review, your thoughts are important, you know.

Word Count: 2669 words.


.05 - Shigure and Skip Ropes


"Tada!"

"Er.. What is this?"

The rope was abruptly shoved in his face without so much as a warning. Kana had made the dreadful discovery earlier that day that her brother's schedule consisted of nothing but routine duties, unappealing chores, and aimless loitering, so she made it a mission of hers to reel him out of his stuffy tent at all costs. It was a challenge through and through, and it took her playing the teary-eyed tantrum card in order to finally convince him to follow her outside. Thus, her plan was in progress, and Shigure was none the wiser.

But if all that trouble was just to show him a raggedy old cord, he had to wonder if her priorities were in order.

"I-It's a rope, silly!" Kana beamed, signs of a faint struggle on her face. Shigure could see she was fidgeting as she stood on the tip of her bare toes to present it to him. "Ah.. Kana, I'm quite aware of that," he clarified as he steadied her with a pat on the head. "I meant to say what you wanted me to do with i—"

"Take it!" Kana blurted—and interrupted—back. When he hesitated, she pleaded to him. "Please! You promised we'd do what I want today!"

Shigure rose his hands and stepped back, a little apprehensive, but ultimately relented and accepted the rope after seeing her playful expression sour. It was a telltale sign that the waterworks were close, and the last thing he wanted was to be lectured by their mother for not being a more considerate sibling.

Not to mention that she had a point. He wasn't one to go back on his word. He sighed and smiled to lighten the mood (her mood, to be precise). "I did, I did, my apologies. What did you have in mind, Kana?"

'Ah.. That painting is never gong to be finished at this rate..'

Kana's pout vanished far quicker than it had appeared, and before Shigure could lament his personal woes further, she spoke. "I want you to skip with it, see if you can break my record!"

Shigure politely returned the rope not even a second later.

"Thank you for the offer, but I think not." he bluntly declined and turned away, stolid as can be.

"Huh?! B-But how come?!" she asked, upset (again). Apparently she had crossed a boundary she didn't even know existed.

Shigure cocked a brow, surprised that she was unable to put the pieces together right away. Then again, her knowledge of social norms could at times rival their father's (was it passed down?). Though granted, he had the excuse of having a half-hearted childhood comprised of being locked in a tower for gods knows how long, leading to a life of lurking in the unknown toward more-than-a-few customs. Their mother found it cute—endearing was the word she used—everyone else in the army used it as a gateway to tease him.

Whereas their father was a good sport to the many jokes at his expense, usually laughing heartily along with them, Shigure usually found himself miring in a pool of what he would later come to know as 'second-hand embarrassment'. He shivered just thinking about it. Never mind the awkward 'father jokes' or his wholly unconditional love. The man would often refer to becoming a parent as the 'single greatest accomplishment of his young life', and did so with a grin.

Apparently leading Valla and its inhabitants into an age of restructure was something of a second priority.

Shigure returned his focus to Kana, concluding that she was likely the majority beneficiary of their father's absentminded fruits. "I have my reservations." he answered coolly. "You see, I'm afraid I'm too old for such things."

Though his words were by all means genuine—if not slightly yearning for exemption—Kana took them as a petty excuse. "Hmph! Big brother is boring! Boring!" she cried in retaliation.

"Eh?!"

It was hardly the reaction he had expected—though close enough in retrospect—Shigure snapped out of his poise and immediately sought to offer a bandage-worthy compromise. "H-Hold on! W-We can play something else if you want!" he proposed with a palm held up, still holding desire to commit to his word.

His suggestions fell on deaf ears however. Rope in hand, Kana plopped flat on the ground and crossed her arms. "I wanted to see big brother skip rope.. " she muttered lowly. "Big brother's so cool.. He rides a pegasus and paints pretty pictures and sings sweet songs and has cool hair and makes friends with every animal he meets.."

"Why are you speaking as if I'm no longer present..?"

Marinating in a deep—if not childish—melancholy, Kana heaved a heavy sigh and resumed her melodramatic monologue. "He's so cool.. I thought he could do anything.. so I wanted to see if he could break my super special skip rope record.. but he woke up today deciding he wanted to be really, really, really boring.."

"Expressive of self-imposed limitations, more like." he calmly corrected.

Kana stared him down with pursed lips, right before submitting him to unwavering scrutiny. "I don't get it.. How can you be too old for something?" she asked, no doubt curious.

It was as if a light bulb went off in his head.

Realizing that this could likely double as her lecture for the day, Shigure thought carefully, and decided to convey a response to his muse in the form of an example—one acquired through prior experience.

"The same way you can be too young for something, I'd imagine." he answered. "You're familiar with what that entails, aren't you?"

That certainly struck a nerve. Kana loosened her arms gradually as she came to reflect upon the many times in which her small stature and generation denied her of just about anything that may have held her fancy. "Hmph.. Mama and papa say it all the time.."

'Kana. I'm afraid we're understocked on tents, so you'll have to share with your brother. Perhaps you can have your own when you're older.'

'Gah! Kana, p-put that down! That drink's not age-appropriate!'

'Kana, you're far too young to participate in the lottery. Its grief is a monumental burden that you're simply too young to handle.'

'Take this flute Kana, if a boy comes near you, blow it and I'll come to your rescue for at least the next thirty years!'

'Kana, this pendant... No.. Maybe when you're older.'

"But what does that have to do with you not wanting to skip rope, huh?!"

"More than you would suspect, actually. Just as there are things that you are too young for," Shigure continued, digit raised and all. "There are things that I am too old for. Certain brands of child's play, for example."

That in and of itself sounded alright enough to act as a justification, that is until Kana hit a blockade in his logic. "Hey! But you play with me all the time!" she spat.

"And you alone, and only if it's on my own accord. You on the other hand.." he paused, eyes rolling for a bit of an effect. "I believe you play with just about everyone in the army."

"Wha?! Do not! Big brother's spreading lies again!" Kana immediately countered back without a second thought. In truth, Shigure had been prepared for a comeback like this, and had preemptively prepared an arsenal of incriminating evidence to fire back at her.

"Mm. You play with mother, for one."

"Oh! Of course I do!" unaware of his tactics, she readily upheld his accusations. "I love mama a ton! We pick pretty flowers every day and she reads me stories before bed too! Heehee! Who doesn't play with their mama?"

"I don't." he retorted, unabashedly at that. "At least, not any longer."

"Waah! I'm gonna tell her you said that!"

Her juvenile threats did little to worry him, and he promptly proceeded with the rest of his exhibits. "Let's see.. You play with father often, there's no questioning that. You also engage in hide and seek with his younger sisters, not to mention giving his servants the runaround. I'd say you're very energetic, and that deserves another strike f—"

"Hey! That's not fair!" Kana cried, cutting him off to call a sudden foul. "I saw papa rustling your hair the other day! That should count! Cheater! Big brother deserves a strike too! A hundred strikes!"

Shigure held back a shudder, distinctly recalling that particular memory with nothing short of a flushed face. He was hoping she wouldn't remember that. "Er.. Well, y-yes.. " he mumbled, entangled in an awkward struggle. "..I suppose father is known to have a rather.. eccentric outlook on things.. and it is true that he can be very.. spoiling at times.."

'Hey! Shiiigure! Have I ever told you that you're the best son I've ever had?'

'Er.. FatherI'm the only son you've ever had.'

'Exactly! That's how I know you're the best, you're second-to-none! And don't forget it!'

'F-Father, my hair, you're touslin!'

'One daywhen this war is overwe're gonna go bear hunting, I promise! Just you and me, man to man alone in the wilderness with nothing but the bonds of familial passion by our side! Gods, I'm weeping just thinking about it!'

'B-But father! Bears are our friends!'

'Hm? They can be dinner too! It's called pulling double duty!'

"Father has some... difficulty accepting that I've matured." Shigure abruptly assessed, face still ablaze. There was no way to determine for sure where the trouble had originated from, but it likely stemmed from a combination of the man's sheltered youth, the halcyon days they spent together in the Deeprealms, and his profound desires to pass the childhood he never had unto his offspring.

The results were middling at best and wrought with gawkiness (points for effort though).

"That said, I never instigate his antics, so it doesn't count." he argued, though it came across as another paltry excuse. "Therefore, I have nothing against me. The same can't be said for you."

"Says who!?"

"Says I, and now that we've taken the time to establish that, you can understand why I refuse to swing this rope aroun—"

"Ahhh!" Kana promptly interrupted his grand speech with a precious yawn, stretching her arms out as far as they could go. "Nope!" she obliviously chimed. "I already forgot everything you said—big brother talks too much!"

"Th-That quickly?!"

"Yup!" she chimed again, smiling wide at the dumbfounded look on his face. "Big brother should have just sucked it up and skipped rope right from the get go! If I knew you were going to drag this out, I would have left you inside!"

Hearing that, the young man muttered aside. "I honestly think I would have preferred that.."

That easel was simply dying to be painted on.

Kana, as cheerful, pure, benevolent and blessed her heart may be, was still a stubborn child at the core and infamous for being hard to please (as if that really needed to be spelled out). Shigure had tried, he had given it his all, he had cut corners, offered middlegrounds, even presented an entire thesis about how she was so clearly in the wrong, but alas, it still was not enough to thwart her. The sheer fortification of his little sister's starry-eyed ambitions were too eternal to be dulled by mere compromise. There was no way out of it, he was chained by his word and his honesty.

Really, she was simply too powerful for her own good (was it the dragon blood?).

It was around that moment that Shigure came to acknowledge that his muse's one-way highway was for lack of better word, absolute, and he would have to sacrifice his dignity in order to remain in her good graces. Having dubbed himself a madman, Shigure glanced to the left and to the right before approaching Kana at eye-level. "That record you spoke of.." he murmured, all hush-hush like. "Er.. What was it, exactly?"

His whispers were enough to kindle a dreadfully fervent spark within her. Kana let out a lingering gasp, her mouth hanging open until it was fully agape. Her palms were clutching at her cheeks and there was an unmistakable twinkle in her eyes. Shigure had seen the look before, and grew accustomed to the fact that it almost always meant something really, really, really bad (for him).


"..You're requesting that I do six?"

"Yup!"

"Only six?"

"Only six!"

"Only six, no strings attached? That's all?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Only six, and as soon I accomplish that, I can be on my way?"

"That's right! Though I think it'd be better if big brother kept playing with me for the whole day! Heehee!"

It was safe to say Shigure's biggest mistake that day was assuming that her high score was actually anywhere near as impressive as her grandeur theatrics made it out to be (in her defense, six was likely a big number by her scale). Needless to say, Shigure felt a little foolish, and even briefly contested thwacking himself over it.

"Ah.. Well, we'll see about that," having given her no guarantees, he gave his surroundings a once-over, if only to ensure nobody was present to watch this travesty unfold (most especially a nondescript, non-specific poet).

How fortunate was he to discover that the rest of the army had far better things to do than watch him botch a child's pastime.

Shigure took a hold of the rope, firmly gripping both ends, getting a feel for its controlreminding himself that the worst must surely be overand was about to begin when he was met with an unexpectedly loud dissent. "Wait! Big brother, don't start yet! I forgot, I forgot!"

Perhaps there may have been a string or two after all.

He left his first jump on hold and met his muse halfway with a patient sigh. "And what might that be?"

Kana brought a hand to her chin, pausing to mull it over with her memory, foot tapping on the ground. "Um... You have to.." she began. "You have to.. ah.. say.. say.. somethingOh! I got it!"

Struck with sudden recollection like a brick to the head, Kana pointed excitedly at her brother and shared the quote unquote good news. "Big brother has to rhyme about vegetables while he jumps—or else it doesn't count!"

"E-Eh?" Shigure pulled a stumbling double-take, blinking twice. By the looks of it, he was well on his way to smashing a world record of his very own: just how many times this bun-toting tot could baffle him in a day.

"R-Rhyme?!" he stammered. "But you said!"

"And the rhymes have to be unique!" she asserted. "Big brother can't reuse vegetables either, every one he says has to be new!"

"Is that so..?" he honestly wanted to refute her but couldn't find the words (or endurance) to do so. "Forgive me, I wasn't expecting the criteria to be so strict.."

Especially since said criteria didn't exist until about five seconds ago.

Sensing his ever-humble modesty in effect, Kana offered support in the form of a cheery little fist pumping high in the air. "Don't worry big brother, I believe in you! I do, I do! You can do it!"

To that, he couldn't help but smile (she really was a handful). "Hehe, honestly Kana.." he shook his head and readied himself with the rope. "I take it you'll be keeping score then?"

"Uh-huh!" she grinned. "But um.. just one more thing before big brother starts!"

"Hm?" he craned his head at her, wondering how she could possibly lengthen this routine any further.

"Can you sing each rhyme? I like it when big brother sings!"


"Lettuce, potatoes, carrots and peas, mother would love it if you ate all of these!"

"Whoa, so cool! Keep going, keep going!"

"Squash, beans, peppers and yams, may I have some? Thank you ma'am!"

"Radishes, turnips, onions and beets, all of these are pretty neat!"

"Spinach, tomatoes, garlic and leeks, these all really make my week!"

"Hey, wait a minute! Tomatoes aren't vegetables, big brother! Uncle Leo said so!"

"E-Eh? They're not?!"


I tend to prefer my tomatoes in sauce form, thanks. Leo prefers his tomatoes.. through just about any orifice in his body. As long as they get inside him somehow, you know?

Perhaps you may have noticed that I've essentially written Corrin—check that, English name—as "that dad" (I can't stress these quotations enough). You'd be more than right to come to that conclusion and while we're at it, hats off to your amazing ability to analyze context clues. As for Corrin himself, let's go ahead and lampshade it as he just really loves his blueberry baby boy and that's okay (would you honestly blame him?).

Next time, that easel finally gets painted on (Shiggy could use a break, am I right?). Suggestions are still open. By the by, happy holidays.

To be continued.. bleh.. whenever.