towerofanimus | Yotsuba!&...

Entry tags:

Yotsuba!&...

Characters: Yotsuba and you!
Setting: Dorm Room 2-07, the Meadow, and the Mailroom.
Format: I'm starting in prose, but I'll match you!
Summary: After waking up and seeing that Daddy and Jumbo are gone, Yotsuba decides to take Lucifel's advice to heart..and starts making flower crowns and pictures in the meadow, which will be delivered to her friends in the mailroom.
Warnings: Other than loads of cute, nothing at the moment.

When Yotsuba woke up, she didn't expect to be in her bed, like she had the first two times she died. Nor was she expecting the absence of Daddy or Jumbo. Had they run back to their hiding place? Or..maybe the bad people were keeping them away, since they had enchanted them. She knew that Daddy and Jumbo couldn't kill her, so Lucifel had probably put her in bed when she fell asleep. She knew what death was..she just wasn't used to waking up from a peaceful death before.

However, remembering Lucifel reminded Yotsuba of something she had to do to help people, so when she was finally able to move around, she put on her sling, the sash that held the pouch for her sling bullets, gathered up her sketchbook and crayons and set out for the meadow.

Yotsuba, sadly, was not prepared for the weather. While she loved the rain, she was smart enough to know that you couldn't draw on soggy paper. So, she had to quickly run back to the dorm, leave her things there, and run into the stormy meadow to pick flowers, which would be later made into flower chains. One could find her laughing and getting soaked as she worked against the wind and picked flowers. She would have to do her drawing elsewhere, but for now, this was fun!

Finally, one could find Yotsuba dumping her creations and letters into the mailboxes of her friends. If one asked, they might receive a picture too, or a hug.

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Rick got up late and was even later getting to the elevator for breakfast--or, as the case may be, lunch. Yesterday's therapy session, though definitely good for his peace of mind, was of no help to his shaky physical condition, and ultimately was Not a Good Idea. The flavorless nutrition bars did not help. By the time he was ready to head to the morgue for his usual job, Rick already knew he wouldn't be able to hike the six flights of stairs without a break. Thankfully, the meadow was on the way; he resolved to take a quick nap there to regain his strength.

He was not anticipating that the weather would be as inhospitable as it looked yesterday. Rain gusted onto the landing--he couldn't even cross to the next floor without getting soaked. Rick slumped on the railing and sighed deeply; while he had his cleaning equipment on-hand, he already knew he lacked the energy to do his job (and he most certainly was not going to chance sleeping in the morgue). Rick was about to shamble his way back to the elevators (maybe he could nap on the way up instead?) when he heard, over the howling wind...a child's laughter?

Rick chanced poking his head through the entrance. Maybe there was someone in there...the rain spattering his glasses made it difficult to tell. Best to make sure.

"...H-Hello?"

Moving around in a hurricane was quite difficult, but since the wind felt nice and pushed her around a lot, Yotsuba couldn't help cut laugh at it and the rain, since they were both so much fun! As she moved and laughed about, she kept on picking flowers..until she heard someone call out.

She thought she saw someone at the entrance of the meadow, so, holding a bundle of flowers in her left hand, Yotsuba ran out, soaking wet, to meet the new person.

"Hello! Who are you?! Are you a good person?!"

Rick stumbled back in mild surprise. He was certain that there was someone in the field, but he hadn't expected to be approached so...forwardly. Or by someone so young! He'd seen younger kids out and around the Tower--just over ten, at the least--but this girl couldn't have been much older than five, and with seemingly no adult supervision! What was she doing here?

A little concerned and overwhelmed by the implications, Rick regained his composure as quickly as he could and put on the stern but friendly face of a Responsible Adult. "Um...I w-would think I'm a-a g-good person, yes," he said, squinting slightly. The question was odd...although it made a strange amount of sense coming from someone who could have grown up in a place like this.

Rick decided not to press the issue. Following with her greeting, he knelt slowly onto one knee (even though the action pained him, since his joints felt shaky and brittle) and extended a hand.

"I'm Rick. W-What's y-your name?"

Yotsuba was here picking flowers, despite the rain and despite the lack of adults. She was always one to run off on her own if someone didn't drag her somewhere with them, thus her sling and the knife back in her trunk. However, Yotsuba took the hand that Rick gave her with her free one and held up her flowers as she spoke. Her hand, along with the rest of her, was soaking wet and cold.

"I'm Yotsuba Koiwai! I'm here to pick flowers to make crowns out of and the rain's a lot of fun! Why don't you hop in? The wind feels really nice!"

Rick nearly chuckled, though he was trying to keep a more-or-less serious facade. He didn't want to encourage her to go back into the raging storm, but...oh my goodness, was she adorable. He couldn't help smiling.

"S-Sounds like f-fun, b-but you'll c-catch a c-cold if you k-keep this up! I think y-you have enough f-flowers, y-you c-can take a b-break."

Rick didn't really have to keep up a serious facade. Yotsuba didn't really care about those sorts of things, and one could lead her along easily without one, for better or worse.

"I'll be fine! Yotsuba won't catch a cold! But resting is important! If you don't rest, you won't be able to work! Can I rest with you?"

...Well, at least she was willing to go somewhere else. Best to pick his battles, Rick decided.

"...I d-don't see why not," he nodded, scratching his chin. He'd have to pass on cleaning the morgue for the time being, but providing Yotsuba with proper supervision (and getting some sleep if he could help it) was, to him, a far more pressing matter. One of the lounges--the one on the fourth floor was the most inviting--would do well enough for this task.

In the meanwhile, the child's insistence did not change the fact that she was soaking wet and would probably be very cold later. Rick rooted around in his cleaning supplies and procured a ragged towel (but clean, cut from scratch fabric he found in the workshop yesterday), which was arm-length for him but probably plenty big enough for Yotsuba.

"...Here. You s-should d-dry yourself o-off."

Yotsuba was always happy to go places, especially with good people. If supervision was brought up, she wouldn't be able to quite understand it, since, other than the monsters, there was no reason-in her mind-for anyone to watch her. However, she happily accepted the towel with her free hand, smiling all the while.

"Okay! I will and then we can rest! Yotsuba can make you a flower crown!" As she spoke, she dried her hair and the rest of herself off as best she could with one hand before handing the wet towel back to Rick. She was still a little chilly, but she didn't mind.

Rick accepted the towel, folding it neatly before putting it back in its designated spot (hung lengthwise over the handle, underneath the smaller, more abrasive rag used for scrubbing) in his makeshift cleaning caddy. He didn't have anything else Yotsuba could use to keep warm later...hopefully there were some blankets in the lounge.

"--Oh, w-why thank you!" Rick grinned as he collected the work ensemble in one hand and ushered Yotsuba onward with the other. "L-Let's go to the f-fourth floor, okay? There's l-lots of room f-for you to sort your f-flowers on, and r-really comfy c-couches to rest in. S-Sound good?"

Not that Rick would have to worry too much about Yotsuba being chilly. She usually didn't mind that much about being a little cold. So, smiling happily, Yotsuba tried to take Rick's free hand and pull him forward, down the stairs, towards the bottom floors.

"You're welcome! And that sounds like fun! Yotsuba can make you a crown and rest and then get more flowers and make more crowns! I'm gonna cheer everyone up!"

At least, people she knew.

Rick accepted Yotsuba's hand and did his best to keep up with the energetic child without tripping over his own feet. It was easier than he expected; her own enthusiasm drove away his exhaustion and brought strength to his wobbly legs, giving him purpose (at least for the moment). The mountain of stairs that took him seemingly forever to climb melted away in their descent.

"How nice!" he cooed, only a little breathless from jogging. "J-Just be careful g-getting more flowers. Maybe I c-can help you f-find more and m-make c-crowns after a n-nap, a-alright?"

Yotsuba's default way of moving was running, so she had no problem getting down the stairs when she was holding onto Rick. She could have been going a little slower for him, but she didn't know that he was already exhausted, and she loved going down the stairs. Even if she did trip sometimes if she went too fast.

"Yotsuba will be! I have a sling, and I'm good at avoiding monsters! But it would be fun to make crowns with you! Do you know how? And Yotsuba isn't sleepy!"

It was kind of difficult to keep up with Yotsuba--both physically and in terms of their conversation. Rick found himself tripping over his words as much as he was tripping over his legs.

"I'm s-sure you can b-beat up a-any m-monster you c-come across," Rick chuckled, making sure to keep Yotsuba's hand to keep her from falling down the stairs, "b-but it's r-rainy and w-windy in the m-meadow--you'll b-blow away if y-you're not c-careful!"

Then, just as quickly, there's more points for him to address. "--I-I'd l-love f-for you to t-teach me! A-Ah, but--I-I'm p-pretty tired m-myself...How about this: if you p-promise to stay out of t-trouble, I'll n-nap while you m-make a c-crown for me, a-and then you can w-wake me up a-and I'll h-help you make the r-rest."

Tripping over words wasn't as bad as tripping over your legs. Hopefully Rick would be able to keep his balance before they reached the fourth floor, or they both would go tumbling down the stairs. Or just him, if Yotsuba let go of his hand quickly enough.

"Oh..I can't. Monsters are really scary if they catch you! They can eat you up! But it would be awesome to get lifted up in the air! Yotsuba could fly! And I promise to stay out of trouble while you rest! I'll make you a nice flower crown and hug you awake!" And she would try to not fall asleep on Rick.

At least she was halfway sensible...although the more Rick thought about it, if Yotsuba had spent a decent amount of time here, it was very possible that she knew more about the dangers of monsters than she did weather phenomena. He frowned, suddenly feeling very sad.

...Given Yotsuba's adorable enthusiasm, though, that didn't last too long. He was all smiles again once they reached the fourth floor landing, much earlier than he'd anticipated.

"O-Okay! I'll, um--I'll h-hold you t-to it!" the blonde man chuckled, pulling back on Yotsuba's hand to make sure she stopped with him. "...Here we a-are. N-Now, I see a c-couch with m-my n-name on it..."

Yotsuba knew how dangerous monsters could be, but she didn't know much about them in detail, much like her understanding of the weather. She understood what it was, what it did, and how to react, but nothing much other than that. Thankfully though, Yotsuba didn't realize the frown as they reached the fourth floor.

Thankfully, Yotsuba would stop when Rick pulled back on her hand, and she would look up at him smiling..and puzzled when he mentioned there was a couch with his name on it. "Really?! Where?! Yotsuba wants to see! What is your name?!"

And, if Rick didn't pull her back, she would try to rush into the fourth floor, looking for this wonderful couch that was personally made out to this nice sleepy man.

Rick let Yotsuba run into the floor, trailing casually after and grinning with barely suppressed laughter. He pointed at a particularly comfy-looking sofa by one of the windowed walls.

"Th--That one." He squinted, feigning surprise. "...You m-mean you c-can't s-see my name there?"

Yotsuba watched as Rick pointed out the sofa and ran over to it, dragging him behind her. As she did so, she looked all around it, growing even more excited and puzzled.

"I can't!! Where is it?! Can you tell me?! Please?"

The moment she found out that she was wrong, she was either going to be mad because she though Rick was lying or just sad because his name wasn't on the couch. But it would only last for a little while. After all, they could put his name on the couch and make it his.

Endou was pretty happy with the rain too, to be honest. Gave him a good terrain to do some heavy training in, but when he came to the meadow with that intention in mind he found himself stopping to watch the girl. And, after a moment, he goes running into the field, hoping to play with her.

"Heeyyy! What're you doing?"

Yotsuba, for better or worse, didn't know anything about soccer or training for it, but she stopped laughing to herself at the wind's antics so that she could speak to this boy. As she did so, she picked a few more flowers and held them up so that he could see.

"I'm picking flowers to make crowns for everyone!"

"Flowers for crowns?" He finally came to a stop by her, looking at the flowers and then tilting his head. "For everyone? That's a lot of people to make crowns for!" But hey, there are also a lot of flowers in the field.

"Think you need any help?"

It was, which was why, in Yotsuba's head, 'everyone' translated to 'the people I've met and liked'. "Yeah! It's super cool! And you can help Yotsuba..but are you a good person?"

After all, she had to avoid bad people, or she'd die!

"Am I a good person? Well yeah!" But then, everyone was technically a good person. There were no enemies or allies off the field, just people. Sometimes people did bad things, but that didn't mean they were bad people.

Rick gave his chin a puzzled scratch. "Hmm...I thought it w-was this one...M-My eyes m-must be g-going bad. H-Here--"

The chuckling blonde man took off his glasses and gingerly handed them to Yotsuba (on her next circuit of the couch).

"--M-Maybe these w-will help?"

Of course they wouldn't--Rick was legally blind, but kids seemed to enjoy playing with his spectacles, so long as they didn't give themselves a headache. Besides, he was close enough to the couch that he could identify it with or without lenses.

Yotsuba, on the other hand, knew there were bad people in the world. After all, Daddy had said to look out for them, and she had been murdered here before. However, Yotsuba smiled at that and picked another flower, happy that this guy was a good person and that it was raining so much.

"Then you can help! Pick alll the flowers you can, okay?!"

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Yotsuba!&...

Meadow (or just outside it)

Meadow (or just outside it)

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flaskdjflasdjfl;sdaj;fsad;f;;;;;;;;

These two are utter cuties. :3 <3

Meadow

Meadow

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