Bullying Big Brother Shigure! (*with wacky misadventures)

[Dear me. I can't remember the last time I wrote past tense. I'm.. getting rusty.]

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One of the more pleasant things about being ensnared in the middle of a power struggle against a peace-loving faction turned legion of honor-driven warmongers are the occasional moments of relief from that bloodshed.

In other words, the infrequent day-off to keep everyone from losing their sanity. And despite the grizzly implications, it worked for what it was.

A young man of many talents, Shigure was never one without something to do when it came to these infrequent vacations. Be it training, singing, painting, caring for his pegasus, or simply conversing with any woodland critter willing to listen, there was never a dull moment for him.

Some would go as far to as to claim that he lacked any flaws at all, a perfect boy melded by disputably perfect parents, with the proof being that only one of those aforementioned skills was inherited.

"Come on, come on! Hurry up!"

They would be wrong to make that assumption.

"I'm right behind you, same as always."

"How come you're so slow?! Your legs are longer than mine!"

"I don't particularly see the need for rushing.."

He wasn't the best when it came to familial relations.

Kanna huffed impatiently, an unmistakable pout on her face. "Hmph.. Big brother's already too old to keep up with me, at this rate he'll be an old man by sundown!"

"Excuse me?" asked Shigure, stopping just behind her. "Could you repeat that?"

"E-Eeh!" the girl exclaimed with a squeak, breaking off into another sprint. "N-Nothing! I didn't say anything!"

"Or so you claim.."

A sigh escaped Shigure as he continued to follow his little sister through the wood, on hot pursuit of something she deemed of high importance. Although Kanna's intentions were always pure (a fact that his father reminded him of quite often), she had the habit of getting caught up in the moment, treating every little episode as a big mission and getting teary-eyed if things failed to go in her favor.

"I don't suppose we can take a break.."

"What? No way! We're almost there! It's just up ahead! Just up ahead!"

His mother always told him to set an example, but that was easier said than done. Kanna wasn't one for his calm and diligent mannerisms, and certainly wasn't going to start any time soon. Her mindset was more akin to that of a wild card, and it showed.

"Okay here, right here! Big brother!" Kanna called, turning around only to find him still lagging behind. Unable to wait any longer, she ran back to grab his hand, tugging him the rest of the way. "Look! There!"

"K-Kanna, please, if you could let- Oh?"

He paused, taken aback by the mesmerizing sight before him. Kanna had brought him to a river running through the forest, one virtually undisturbed by either of the two factions, left to prosper in the hands of the enriching environment.

As a man of nature and its gifts, it brought an uncanny sense of peace to him, one that reminded him of his mother and the bond that they shared. For that brief moment, it felt as if the trials and hardships of war didn't exist. He was reminded of what they were all fighting for, and why they fought for it.

Humbled, he turned to Kanna, a smile gracing his face. "Kanna.. Did you want me to see this?"

She looked up at him, humming as she did so, "Huh? 'Course I did!"

"I see.. In which case, thank you. I don't believe I've ever seen anything as beautiful as thi-"

"Now go get my scarf for me!"

"..E-Eh?"

"Over there! See?"

Kanna tugged at his sleeve and pointed at the cloth in question, stranded in the middle of the river, conveniently caught by a rock. "I was playing here earlier and I wanted to use my scarf to collect all the smooth and shiny stones at the bottom of the river, I took it off, but then it slipped out of my hands and fell in the water!... Can you get it for me?"

Shigure couldn't help but furrow his brow, disheartened thanks to his misinterpretation, and also wondering if his presence was really that much of a necessity. He took a brief glimpse into the water, checking its depth and making some guesstimates.

It wasn't that deep.

He turned back to Kanna, who had just about the sweetest smile on her face, but for all the wrong reasons. Shigure was beginning to feel as if he was on the losing end of their little game. "Er.. Kanna."

She was rocking on the balls of her feet, hands behind her back. "Yup?"

"Forgive me for asking, but.. are you not able to retrieve it yourself?"

Kanna entertained the thought, a hand grasping her chin. "Hm.. I could.- But.. I want you to do it!"

"And why would that be?"

"I don't wanna get wet!"

He closed his eyes, another sigh escaping from him. "..I see. And so I was the next viable candidate?"

"Well, yeah!" she beamed, leaning closer to him. "I didn't think you were busy.. Plus! If I can't do it, I know my big brother can!"

He didn't have the heart to lecture her, or even tell her that he still had a painting waiting for him in his tent, she was too naive for her own good (or perhaps too clever, given what he was about to do). Shigure reluctantly agreed to fetch it for her. Reluctantly. "I.. suppose. If it makes you feel better."

"Yay!" she cheered with euphoria (and just a bit of triumph), throwing herself at him and hugging his leg. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! And don't worry about me, I'll be safely standing right here watching you!" she looked up at him, then gave him a salute with a smirk. "I'll be your sister support!"

"I feel more worried than comforted by that, to be honest.."

Shaking her off, Shigure took off his boots and rolled up the legs of his pants, preferring not to get any of his clothes soaked. With that, he took a step in, just to test the temperature. Finding it to his liking, he took another step, and soon was well on his way to recovering the cloth.

About halfway across, he looked back, just to see if Kanna kept her word.

"Hi!"

She did and she's made that readily apparent, gesture and all.

Getting the scarf back was just as easy as he had hoped. It was a bit soggy, but a few hours of drying would see to that. "Whoa!" Kanna smiled. "You got it, big brother! Yeah! I knew you could do it!"

Just about anyone could have, but that was aside the point. Shigure would be lying if he said he didn't feel some satisfaction from hearing her say that, though.

With the kerchief in hand, he pulled a one-eighty to head back, but made a fatal misstep in the process. "G-Gaah!" he yelped and before he knew it, that sibling reverence was gone, bungled and botched in the blink of a bumbling eye.

Kanna watched with baited breath, gasping as she saw him hit the water with a splash. For a moment she seemed worried, but those fears were put to rest when she saw that he had landed on his bottom, and that the scarf had slipped out of his grasp, flowing freely through the air until it reached her.

"Oh hey! My scarf!" she chirped, blissfully seizing and adorning herself with it. "Ehehe, mission accomplished!" she declared, toothy grin and all. The expedition's sole casualty didn't seem to bother her as much as it did him.

"Hmph!" a fit was quick to replace her joy however, and she huffed in Shigure's direction. "Shame on you, big brother! You almost scared me! Now come on, we gotta hurry back, you still promised to play with me! The faster we get back the more time we have!"

'T-This doesn't count as playing..?' he thought.

"Un...Ungh.." Shigure rubbed his head with a groan, feeling a tad discombobulated by the whole ordeal (and a little butthurt). He was well-aware of the frog on his head but was in no state to politely ask him to hop along on his merry way.

"C-Coming.."