This is Week 8: Challege 1 – Part 1: Generate a word list and write a one-shot for each word. (25/178+7)Here is my list. (value, gamble, brass, candle, gang, composer, coat, rumor)

Summary:
Notes:

Value

The small boy stared from where he was sitting on he wooden porch of his granny's porch. The old woman was napping inside and he should have been as well, relaxing from his duties as a shinigami. Instead he had chosen to sit outside watching nature. It was honestly a relaxing thing to do so it honestly wasn't a bad thing.

The sound of children... other children who had normal lives... came to his ears. Letting out a sigh he found himself raising a leg to go back inside, his knee bent so that his summer wear opened so that a breeze could come in. A ball came rolling then up to his one foot that was still on the ground and he could hear the children coming over.

"Can you..."

Toshiro turned his head to see a new girl who didn't know who he was looking at him. Another boy clapped a hand over her mouth. "Don't!"

Letting out a sigh and looking away he set his foot on the ground and then kicked the ball to the smaller children. Watching as they took off he noted the fact that every single one of them were younger then him and none of the ones around his age were there anymore. Standing up he went into the room and flopped down onto the ground near his grandmother's futon.

"Were those children child? They didn't invite you to play with them again?"

"No... well... this group seems to be younger then me. I missed quite a lot, didn't I."

"Yes... you did."

Toshiro sighed. "I said that out loud. I really don't wish to make things hard for her." He stood up then, dusting himself off. "I'm going for a walk." He then stopped short. "While it is true that I missed out on being a kid I actually have friends now and I am spending time with people. I am also enjoying myself."

"It doesn't change the fact that you don't feel that the village has ever valued you and that is something you still want."

"No... it doesn't change that fact." The boy stood up and stepped back out of the house, his blade swung over his back.

He folded his arms around his chest and began to walk, enjoying the cool breeze that blew through the village. A few people stared at him as if they wished he was gone, or never even existed in the first place. He stopped short when he heard the sound of the children again and turned his head to see them kicking the ball about.

For some reason he found himself drawn to them and he found himself kneeling down to watch as they played with the ball. The same child who had tried asking him to kick the ball back before looked up. "Hey! Do you want to play!"

"Not him." The other child tried hiding behind the one child while a few of the others glared at Toshiro.

Toshiro took a deep breath. "No. I'm actually enjoying sitting here and watching all of you play there."

It was then that the children took off with their ball in a different direction. Taking a deep breath he stood up and walked in another direction. It was then that he sensed a hollow and his entire body flinched. He spun on his feet, the gravel moving under his feet. He then hurried to where he knew the hollow would be in time to see that it was preparing to attack the children.

Letting out a deep sigh he hurried forward and pulled out his blade in time to prevent the Hollow from crashing down it's blade onto the children. He narrowed his eyes at the beast, his lips pushing together in anger. "I need all of you to back away so I can fight this thing."

The children scattered then, the fear that had caused them to freeze in place replaced with the instinct to flee. He could hear the sounds of some of the village members coming, meaning that they knew full well that a Hollow had appeared near where the children had been playing. "I'd better finish this off quickly so that I can disappear."

He felt a sudden piercing feeling and realized that when the Hollow had attacked the children that it had also hit him, one of the blades having gotten through, cutting his side and part of his arm. Letting out a sigh he found himself calling out his zampaktuo's name. He then swung the blade, killing the Hollow. He heard the voices and choose to hurry away.

He arrived at his grandmother's place and let out a sigh of frustration. "I can't let her see me like this."

Wiping his blade on the grass outside he thought carefully about how he would go about bandaging his injury. Peeking in he saw that the old woman was fast asleep. Standing up with a hand clapped over his small wound he headed in and grabbed his pack, pulling it back outside. He then pulled the bandages from in the pack and carefully pulled back his robes so that he could bandage his side.

He was almost finished when he heard some of the villagers coming his way. This caused him to stop short, one end of the long bandage still in his mouth as he bandaged his arm. His eyes widened and he looked away trying to find a way to dart away. "You!"

"Look..."

"You saved those lives of those children, didn't you?" The same person spoke.

"I'm sorry to have bothered you."

"Bothered? Don't you understand that if you weren't there that they would be dead?"

It was then that he heard stirring from inside the house and his grandmother calling his name. "My granny is waking up. I need to see her and I don't wish to worry her."

"Because you're injured."

It was then that Toshiro's body contorted in panic. He stopped short when he heard his granny's voice. "Toshiro. What is this about you being injured."

"He rescued some of the other children in the village from Hollows. We saw the blood and followed it here. He..." The person stopped short. "You're hurt pretty bad."

The white haired boy looked at his injuries. "No... this really is nothing."

"Nothing." A female spoke up. "I need to get some water boiling and get those injuries sterilized! Those aren't minor injuries."

"I'll be fine." Toshiro found himself ignored and then found himself hugging the door frame. He looked away, unable to look any of them in the eye. One of the men however touched his shoulder and lifted him up, helping him into the house. "Honestly... I'm fine." He then turned his head, realizing that the third person had his blade. "No! Don't..."

The man handed him the blade, frowning as he did. "It is just a blade."

"Hyorinmaru isn't just a blade."

The second man, the one who had done most of the talking looked up. "No... that isn't just a blade. That blade is almost as big as yourself and yet you're able to wield it. Where did you get your training from?"

"I..."

"Toshiro..." His granny spoke up, a worried sound in her voice.

"I trained as a shinigami."

"A shinigami. Aren't you too young?" The man frowned. The woman dug around looking for clean bandages, then let out a gasp. "What ever is it?"

"He isn't just trained as a shinigami. He's... but this is the same number as Captain Shiba."

Toshiro clapped hands over his ears. "Don't! Don't mention that name!" He found his hands pulled away from his ears and the man looking in his face. The whole amicable nature that for once had been there was gone.

"Why is your captain's haori the number of the head of the Shiba clan?"

"I don't care what anyone says! He isn't dead and one day he will come back." Toshiro tried then to pull away, only to find himself pushed to the ground.

"Now. Quiet you."

Toshiro's eyes snapped shut and he at first thought they would do something cruel in front of his grandmother. What he felt though was the bandages being removed and his injuries being handled in the correct manner. They then pulled out a second futon and helped him into it. Something was placed into his mouth and for awhile he dozed off.

Eventually he opened his eyes and saw that the three were around him. The woman was the one who spoke to him. "How come you didn't tell anyone in the village that you were a captain little one? To achieve such rank is no small feat."

"He's not going to answer us. I don't exactly blame him for not speaking to any of us from the village as we all haven't treated him well in the past. That won't happen again."

Toshiro turned over onto his side. "Because I'm a captain..."

"No... because you saved the lives of..." There came a sound. "Well... they're here. I think they wish to see you."

The boy sat up and looked at the children while his granny watched. Taking a deep breath he spoke the only words he could think of. "I won't hurt you."

The one child... the new one approached us first. "Are you related to Ukitake Taicho?"

"No... though I think he would like that, but don't tell him that I said that." The boy couldn't believe how easy the words came out. He tried looking up at the adults but found his eyes darting back to the ground. Speaking with the children though came easily and he found he quite enjoyed it for some strange reason.