liralen | Bedtime Stories: Jyuushiro and the Little Frog (Reply)

Title: Jyuushiro and the Little Frog
Fandom: Bleach
Character: Ukitake
Genre: Bedtime stories
Rating: G
Summary: Jyuushiro sees a little frog and learns something thereby.
A/N: Yeah, yeah... bedtime stories. These are fast, 1000 words or less, and in the structure of a child's bedtime story, sometimes following known ones. And, yes, I take requests. This was a request by

chuchacz, and, when done, inspired her to draw this picture of Jyuushiro and Shunsui. And it was lovely enough that I've added it and I'm actually going to start posting these "for real". Need to add a section to my fanfic area. *shakes head* Ukitake and his kids' books... after "Giving Grace", this amuses me far too much.
Disclaimer: I don't own or make money off of Bleach. This is just fiction.

Once upon a time, Ukitake Jyuushiro was relaxing in the garden.

This was back when he very young, and still very unhappy with the fact that he was ill and that everyone thought him weak and ineffective because of it. He didn't like people looking at him and his coughing and thinking that he couldn't do what was needed to be done.

But he couldn't worry about that ALL the time.

So Jyuushiro was relaxing, and he saw a little frog on a lotus leaf, sitting outside and enjoying the sun. It was a beautiful, bright little frog, as bright green as the idea of spring, with eyes as red as a coal's heart.

It didn't really look very strong and it was quite small.

It snapped at and ate insects so small that Jyuushiro couldn't quite see what, exactly it was eating. He, like I, hoped that it was eating mosquitoes because no one likes mosquitoes.

Then out of the woods came a fox. A slit-eyed, bushy tailed fox with a button black nose, and neat white feet. And that fox saw the little frog.

And before Jyuushiro could jump up and scare the fox away, it pounced for the little green frog.

The little frog dodged, handily, the bigger mammal, and plopped into the pond. The fox dove into the water, over and over again, after the fast swimming, quick leaping frog, until the fox was soaked through with water.

Then, to Jyuushiro's horror, the frog leaped up out of the water and through the air. In that instant's mistake the fox snapped the frog out of the air with narrow cruel red jaws.

Just as suddenly, the fox recoiled, and spat the jewel bright little frog back out. The fox's tongue lolled limp, soon foaming with drool. The fox desperately opened its mouth into the stream and shook its red head under the water, and finally, it staggered away.

The poisonous, bright green little frog settled back on its leaf in the sunshine, and enjoyed the rest of its day in peace.

And Jyuushiro took to heart the lesson that just because one looks small and weak, doesn't mean that one can't win against something much larger.