Well, I'm going away for a couple of weeks on Saturday, so hopefully this should keep people happy until I come back, when hopefully I'll have another chapter or two for you. I hope you enjoy, and that its fairly accurate, its been years since I've been to a fair, and my suggestions that we go in the name of research were met with amused refusals each time. ^_^
It was rather sweet, the expressions on the three children's faces as they gazed at the milling crowds and whirring rides, still standing just inside the gates. To be fair, it was probably the first time any of them had been somewhere like this, especially a fair of this size, and even Kenpachi found himself impressed with the scene.
There were rides of every description dotted around the huge fields, large rides, small rides, those stomach-churning ones intended for teenagers and the usual small children's rides, filled with colourful animals. In between these were stalls hung heavy with soft toys and he could even spot the occasional goldfish, although he dreaded to think what would become of the poor creature if one ever found its way into Yachiru's hands. A faint sizzling sound reached his ears, along with the gentle smell of fried onions and burgers, which was almost drowned out by the excited cries of children, small and large, as they pulled their parents around, their high voices demanding to be heard above the general racket which came with such a large event.
Soon another voice was added to the racket as Yachiru recovered from her initial awe. "Lets go!" She slipped her hand into his and began to try to pull him into the crowd. Instead he scooped her up, fearful of loosing her in such an unfamiliar environment, and glanced at the two boys standing slightly behind him.
"Comin'?"
Quickly calculating he lead them first to one of the stalls surrounded with children and adults alike armed with hooks and trying to scoop up large rubber ducks, judging that it was sufficiently neutral to be interesting to both Yachiru, who would be attracted by the prospect of the large fluffy cats hanging above the pool, and Ikkaku and Yumichika, who would find the surprisingly difficult job of hooking a duck a suitable challenge. It was, he thought to himself, not unlike planning for a battle, there was just less blood involved.
So, after handing over some money to the smiling vendor he left the two boys with a pair of sticks and let Yachiru select the duck she wanted before trying to hook it. Much to her disappointment they were duds. Taking pity on her, they had another go, but didn't win anything that time either and Kenpachi was forced to break it to her that if she wanted to do anything else she couldn't have any more goes. By this time Ikkaku, possibly having grown bored with his companions dithering about which duck to hook, had wandered over to find Kenpachi, a small purple teddy tucked under one arm.
At the sight of the bear Yachiru's eyes widened, her and Kenpachi's failures forgotten, and she looked hopefully from the boy to the bear before sidling up to him. "Hey, Cue-Ball...That bear is nice..."
The boy grunted and glanced down at her compliment, but his expression immediately became suspicious when he saw her face. She hadn't quite mastered the art of subtlety. "What?" Realising her motives he held the bear a little closer. "I won it." He reminded her rather defensively, avoiding her hopeful gaze.
Kenpachi watched with interest as Ikkaku obviously struggled with himself, barely noticing as Yumichika came up beside him, his expression knowing. Eventually, as Ikkaku glanced from the bear to the small girl before him for perhaps the fifth time Kenpachi stepped in. "It's his prize Yachiru, ya cant take it from him" He told the girl gruffly.
However, something entirely unexpected happened after he had spoken, one which brought a proud smile to his face. As Yachiru's disappointed expression deepened, Ikkaku growled and thrust the bear at her, making her jump. "Take it." He muttered as she didn't react, avoiding his companion's eyes. "Didn't want it that much anyway...too girly."
His embarrassed scowl deepened as Yachiru squealed delightedly and took the teddy from him, cuddling it hard, and it only abated slightly when Yumichika moved to his side and said something to him softly. When Kenpachi had Yachiru firmly seated on his shoulders he patted Ikkaku on the shoulder, hoping that his expression spoke for him. From the confused mixture of pride and embarrassment on the teenagers face he judged that it had.
The next move, however, presented a problem. It was the inevitable moment when rides would have to be ridden, and he knew, just knew, that despite the recent generosity shown there would be no such truce when it came to this and his suspicions were confirmed by the frankly mutinous looks he received at Yachiru's excited suggestion that they go on the nearby teacup ride.
Eventually, after some bartering they agreed that they would take it in turns to decide what they were going to do, and Yachiru would go first. This unfortunately meant that Kenpachi had to spend a nauseating five minutes spinning around in a large, pink cup, occasionally catching sight of Ikkaku and Yumichika's amused smirks as he whizzed by.
Although Yachiru enjoyed herself, Kenpachi could barely contain his relief as he escaped the cups. He could cope with most things that would make normal people baulk; in his time he had tried out most of the extreme sports, rock climbing, martial arts, he had even bungee jumped, but he hated anything which meant he had to be spun around, even at the fairly sedate pace of the children's ride.
Hoping that Ikkaku's choice would be a little more suitable he followed the teenager through the crowd, it was slightly better. It was a small roller-coaster which ran on tracks all around the fair, with plenty of loops and spins to keep even a rabid theme park fan satiated. It was just fortunate that Yachiru was too small to go on it, meaning that Kenpachi got to stay and keep an eye on her while the two teenagers paid and enjoyed their ride.
What followed was a flurry of hot queues, sticky candy-floss, ghost trains which were hardly frightening (but made Kenpachi sneeze as the corpse swooping overhead dropped dust on him), and finally, lunch.
Having made sure that no one wanted to go on any more roller-coasters or anything which threw you around Kenpachi decided it was time for them to eat, and it seemed his judgement was right, as Yachiru was beginning to droop on his shoulders and Ikkaku was looking grumpier by the minute; a sure sign that hunger was setting in.
Everywhere seemed to be doing the same sort of thing, quick and easy burgers and hotdogs, so, seeing no point in being picky about what stall they chose, Kenpachi simply made for the closest one with some benches around it, choosing a reasonably clear one to sit at while they ate. For a while there was an appreciative silence as they dug into their spoils, although Kenpachi was surprised Yachiru could eat anything with the amount of sweets she had consumed, but eventually the silence was broken.
"You three enjoying yourself?" Kenpachi was surprised that it had been him who broke it. The three children nodded, some more enthusiastically than others (Ikkaku barely inclined his head) and while a part of Kenpachi said that they better enjoy it after all they put him through for the past two days, another, larger part was pleased that the three of them were having fun, somehow it seemed that so far their lives had been sadly lacking in it.
"Bo-Bo's enjoying himself too!" Yachiru thrust her bear, christened Bo-Bo despite choking snorts of horror from its original owner, at Kenpachi and wriggled it.
"Uh, Great..." Kenpachi patted the toy awkwardly on its fluffy head, not sure how to treat 'Bo-Bo'
Yumichika looked up from where he had been tugging at a handkerchief. "Its certainly very colourful."
Ikkaku nodded. "Yeah, 'snot bad."
High praise from the two of them, who a few weeks previously would have wilfully disparaged anything Kenpachi did for them. Kenpachi grinned, rather pleased he had decided to agree to the trip and motioned to the paper that was steadily being shredded under Yumichika's fingers. "You finished with that?"
Yumichika nodded gracefully and pushed it towards him as he gathered up their rubbish to throw away, rising to take it to a bin, leaving the three of them at the nearby table. As he pushed it through the hole, Kenpachi smiled again, he found that despite his reservations he was beginning to enjoy himself too; the rides weren't that bad, they were a bit of a laugh, and the atmosphere was rubbing off on him.
His good spirits didn't last long, as on his return he noticed an empty space where a mop of pink hair should have been. He looked up at the two boys, who were peering behind him. "Where's Yachiru?"
Yumichika looked at him quizzically. "She followed you to the bin..."
Kenpachi felt the blood draining from his face as he realised the enormity of the situation. Yachiru was missing in a huge, crowded fun fair. He didn't know what direction she had headed in, he didn't know where she might have gone; the six year old had just been swallowed up in the crowds surrounding them...
I always love to hear your opinions about what I've done, and it would be brillaint to come back and find my inbox filled with lots of lovely reviews! *hint hint* ^_^