SUGAR CONTENT; gintama oneshots

creature - utsuro

Look inside of me and see that I am not afraid

To walk inside the void like a kid inside a cave

The small stream was her favorite place in the entire world, she was certain of it. She loved the way the water ran over her feet as her toes curled around the smooth pebbles lining the ground, as the minnows flickered silver in the sunlight shining down on them. Her worn dress was bunched up to her knees as she splashed around, carefully and considerably of the nature she was surrounded by, and the smile on her face never faltered. 

It only became curious when she looked down stream.

(Y/N) felt as though every day she ventured to this stream she discovered something new, and today's discovery was not a pearly white stone nor a fish with scales like rainbows, rather it was a man, sitting on the edge as though he was posing for a portrait. He had long, unkept hair that blocked his eyes from view and his clothes were plain with flecks of a darker color along the sleeves. Even as she walked closer to him, taken in by curiosity, he didn't look to her.

"Excuse me?" (Y/N) said, using a gentle tone of voice as to not scare him away. "I've never seen you around here before. Would you like some company?"

Slowly, almost hesitantly, he met her gaze, revealing two crimson eyes. He studied her for a moment, from her damp clothes to her bare feet and the shoes she had discarded somewhere behind her, taking in the woman standing in the stream with a smile. Finally, he spoke to her, "Who are you?"

There was a undertone of and what do you want from me? and so, sensing that uncertainly, (Y/N) made it her mission to reassure him she meant him no harm. Now that she was closer, she could see the flecks on his clothes were dark red, most likely dried blood, and they were accompanied by tears in his clothes that had been sewn, perhaps hiding scarred skin underneath. Although he was physically bigger than her, he appeared to be scared of her and that worried her more than anything.

"My name is (Y/N)!" she introduced, giving him a wide smile, "And I live in a village nearby. I'm supposed to be gathering herbs for tonight's dinner, but I can always do that on my way back."

Although she knew she was being bolder than normal, she left the stream and took a seat next to him. He didn't so much as flinch, so she figured she had made the right move. With a reassuring smile, she asked, "What about you?"

"...Utsuro. That is what they call me."

A pang resonating through her chest. What sort of people would call this man 'hollow'? She wished to gather him in her arms and fight everyone who had ever treated him with contempt. Even though she had just met him, something within her longed to protect him, to be with him, to understand every bit of him. There was a beauty to him, like how one might find beauty in an unmapped cavern, and she wanted him to see that.

It was a feeling she couldn't explain to anybody else, one that made her feel as though this stream was not what she had been coming here for every day. An out of the blue connection to someone she had only just met, almost as though the two of them were connected by fate. But, perhaps, that was just her dreaming.

Shaking off her troubling thoughts, she put her hands together, quietly as to not make a loud noise and startle him. "I know! We should get to know each other better and I'll go first. My favorite place in the whole world is this stream. I never learned to play any instruments because I kept breaking them on accident. Once, I was bit by a tanuki, but nobody ever believes me when I tell them that."

"And why is that?" Utsuro questioned in regard to her final statement.

(Y/N)'s eyes lit up as he showed genuine interest in what she had to say. "Well, when I was younger, I often lied about seeing tanuki's in the village, and one day, when one really showed up, no one believed me. They all said," She lowered her voice to imitate the other villagers, "There's no way you saw a tanuki, (Y/N)! They don't live this far north."

To her surprise, and immense happiness, a small smile appeared on Utsuro's face, one that didn't last very long but still existed for a brief moment. From then on, until the sun showed signs of setting on the horizon, she entertained him with her stories and tales, and even though he barely said anything about himself, he still seemed to enjoy himself. When dusk began to settle, (Y/N) remembered why she was out in the forest in the first place, standing up in a panic.

"I was supposed to be home by dusk!" (Y/N) exclaimed, hurrying forward and splashing through the stream to reach her shoes. While she tugged them on, noting Utsuro held amusement in his eyes as he watched her, she called out to him, "I'll see you here tomorrow!"

With that, she took off in the direction of her village, missing his words of, "See you tomorrow then, (Y/N)."

...

Utsuro had always been alone. He was empty as he walked from place to place, attacked by angry men who feared his immortality, lived but did not feel alive. Inside of him was an all-consuming void that swallowed every emotion and experience, one that not even he dared to venture into. There was no purpose, he felt, to his aimless wandering, until he found a simple stream in the middle of just another forest. 

Without warning, she appeared, talking to him like he was a human, not a creature. She did not know his past or who he was, but she still reached out her hand to him. He was certain, if she asked him to go anywhere with her, he would not refuse. For now, he would await her return, consumed by one thought alone.

She made him feel as though the wandering had been in search of her. 

...

the lyrics at the beginning are from the song creature by half alive

although I'm incredibly bad at interacting with people, I just wanted to thank everyone who has read/voted/commented - it truly means a lot to me!

and as always, thank you for reading!