Years went by, and Karrie got older. She went from Kindergarten, to First Grade, to Second, Third...We were there to witness it. But of course, if we were there all the way through, then I wouldn't be here. There came a day where Karrie grew out of us. Karrie, up until this point, had always warned us of this day.
"Remember," she'd say. "When I stop wearing you, or talking to you, or playing with you, it doesn't mean I don't love you. It just means I got too big. Okay?"
Even though we knew, it still hurt.
It started with the two of us waking up, and noticing it was broad daylight through the crack in our closet. Naturally, Patches was excited for a brand new day. He giggled and talked about how we might go outside, or ride a bike, or maybe just chill indoors. But when Karrie opened the closet, she only stared at us for a little and then closed the door. At first, we were confused. Why didn't she grab us? Of course, Patches was on the bright side and said that maybe she was tired and didn't feel like playing today. But me? I was paranoid. I kept repeating over and over that she was gonna completely lose interest, and we'd both be dumped.
Awwww...don't be sad, big brother, he cooed, trying to comfort me as I had started to cry. I'll always be here to give you cuddles! You'll never be forgotten! There's always tomorrow! I have to admit, his peppy, high pitched voice was...oddly calming. It made me feel a little better.
But soon, the darkness settled in, and Karrie hadn't pulled us out. The next day, we were checked on, but not played with. The same thing happened the next day, and then the next day, and then the next week, and then the next month, and then the next year...and eventually, Karrie stopped checking on us. And Patches, slowly but surely, started to lose his sparkle. He still tried to reassure me, but I could tell we were both losing hope. One day, he changed it up a bit and asked me a question.
Do you remember what Karrie said we'd become after a while...?
Umm. I think it was...tsu...tsuko...tsukorigarmi...?
Yeah! Do you think...that'll happen soon?
Maybe...I mean, it's been a p-retty long time. I don't even know how long we've been in here for.
...You...don't hate Karrie...do you...?
I'm angry. I'm sad. But...we both KNEW this would happen. Besides. It's not like...like... I stopped. Realizing I couldn't fathom the idea, nevertheless say those words.
...Like what...? Patches gulped nervously. I could feel myself shaking.
I-It's not like...we were replaced... I started to shake more, and I could feel myself feeling the urge to cry. Patches gasped.
No! Don't think like that! Patches's voice was quivering, too. She—she'd never replace us! Don't worry about that! He leaned in closer to me as the waterworks got started again. Wait! Sssh...big brother, listen...I stopped crying for a second and obeyed, hoping he'd comfort me. But instead he stayed silent. I was going to ask him why he wanted me to shut, when I heard it.
Thump...Thump...Thump...
The noise was dull and muffled. It sounded like a heartbeat. Except, it was coming from Patches.
Do you feel it...? He asked. I nodded. It didn't take long before I, too, felt a dull thud within me.
I...I think we're growing...! I said, still feeling the thud.
Razzle Dazzle...! Patches cried in amazement before yawning. It's getting late, big brother...nighty night... I felt his dull thud slow down, as he fell asleep. And as I fell asleep, the last thing that I heard was the dull thud of my soul, beating within me.
The next morning came, and as I expected, everything was the same. I looked around, noticing it was still dark, and waited for Patches to wake up. As I waited, I could've sworn Patches's sleeping noises were much louder than normal, and I could feel myself...breathing? I scooched towards him gently, also noting that, somehow, moving was much easier. Feeling a little frightened, I nudged Patches gently, trying not to startle him up.
"Patches. Patches, wake up." My voice had a minor lisp to it, giving the s's a slight "th" sound. As I nudged, I realized that he didn't feel like his normal shape. Normally, I'd only feel him against my brim. But I noticed he was...bigger somehow. Not too big, he was only around my height, but it was a size difference that made me start to freak. As I panicked I felt my body expand and contract as I took breaths, the sensation only causing me to panic more. "This isn't happening, this isn't happening, this isn't happening, this IS NOT happening..."
"Big brother...?" I heard the familiar voice that had supplied me with so much comfort throughout these lonely, Karrie-less times and I looked back up, happy to at least hear something.
"Oh, thank goodness, you're awake. Listen up, there's some weird stuff going on and—" As I looked up, I completely cut myself off. Where Patches would be, two glowing eyes stood instead. Big, round, with maroon irises. I shouldn't even call them irises; they were just ovals. We both screamed, and without saying another word, burst out of the closet in panic and shock. We literally flew past the doors and smacked into the wall like birds on a window. We fell, and I was met with unusually strong pain. I got up and looked back to Patches, who'd become visible in the little light we had. He was, indeed, much bigger than normal, and his shape was more akin to mine. His blue ribbon was tied right above his brim, which looked a lot like lips. Inside his mouth were a few blocky, white teeth. The eyes that had scared me out of the closet were attached to his body through two stalks. His dark orange patch being next to his left eye. After a few seconds, he too got up.
"Aaah...big brother, what happened?" His eyes changed to x's as he spun haplessly in circles. "What's happening?"
"I...I don't know. This all just feels like a dream..."
"But...I don't think this is a dream..." Patches paused. "Is this what being a tsukorigami feels like?"
"How would I know?! But then again...my soul did feel like it was gonna burst out of me last night..."
"Yeah...mine too..." He looked down and noticed he was hovering above the floor. "Coooool! Look, Big Brother, I can fly~!" He proceeded to zip around the room at will, and even touched the ceiling. Me being extremely nervous (and having a fear of great heights after an...incident) I could only muster up the courage to hover just above the bed where I presumed an older Karrie was still sleeping. Looking over, I noticed Patches had stopped zipping about to take a look at himself in the mirror on our closet door. He was giggling at himself and occasionally sticking out a large, green tongue. Curious to see what I looked like, I hovered over to where Patches was and stared at my reflection. I looked very similar to Patches, and I had retained my colors and the patch to my right. My eyes were a dark green color, and were swirled. Patches's eyes were now the same shape. The teeth inside of my purple-lipped mouth were yellowed, and my tongue was a dark purple.
"We look silly~!" Patches giggled.
"Yeah, this look is...definitely gonna be hard to get used to." I smiled awkwardly at myself before looking out the window. "We should probably get back into the closet soon. It's way too early."
"You sound silly, too!" He added suddenly. I scowled.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
"You thound a little bit like thith." He lisped, exaggerating my newfound speech impediment.
"I DO NOT STHOUND LIKE THAT! " Patches started to snicker, and I could feel my face going red with anger and embarrassment. "SThtop laughing! It'sth not funny!" My lisp was getting worse by the second.
"Aw, come on~! You sound cute!" He teased.
"STHUT UP, AND LET'STH. GO BACK. TO STHLEEP." I snapped, grabbing him by the ribbon and practically yanking him into the closet with me.
"Where'd the stick up your butt come from?" I refused to give a response and huffed, shoving him to the other side of the closet in annoyance. "Big Brother, no..."
"Don't call me a child!" I gave him a glare before turning back around.
"You...don't like that...? I didn't know, Big Brother, I'm sorry."
"I'm supposed to be the older one here," I told him matter-of-factly. "Calling someone else—especially those higher up than you—a child, is rude. Do you understand?"
"Yes, big brother." He said, his voice going lower with feelings of guilt.
"You may come closer now." I instantly heard a squeak of joy before I was squished between the wall and Patches. Despite the position, we both ended up sleeping comfortably.
The next time I woke up, it was dark again. We must've slept throughout the whole day, I thought. I looked over next to me, and Patches was fast asleep, still squeezing me tightly. At first, I wondered why I had woken up. The room was silent, save for a little bit of noise from the indoor fan. At least, until there was another, more disruptive sound. It sounded like a sink drain after you brushed your teeth; a gurgling noise, that was loud enough to make me jump, accompanied with vibrations that I felt coming from Patches. I nudged him awake, and he yawned, loosening his grip on me.
"Big brother, do you need anything?"
"Yes. I need you to stop making those noises so I can sleep." he looked a little confused.
"What noises? Have I been snoring?"
"No. They're gurgling noises, and they're coming from you. You CAN stop them, right?"
"Ohhh! I'm sorry, big brother...I've tried...it's because of this feeling I started having lately. It's kinda empty...and I just don't feel right. I started having it after I started thinking about that cafe place and all of the tasty looking stuff in it..." Gurgle... the noise piped up again. "Ah! I'm sorry, Big Brother! I didn't mean to!"
"Wait...Patches, you're describing hunger."
"Hunger? But I thought—"
"We're alive now, remember? Of course, I'm an idiot—you're hungry."
"I am?" He gasped. "Does that mean we can go to that place now?" He bounced a little bit excitedly.
"As long as you know the directions and they're open, sure."
"Oh, I know them! Oh gosh, do I know them! We go out the house, straight forward away from the house, then we turn left and go until we get to the Rolling Waves Park, then it's right there!"
"...How did you...?"
"What are we waiting for? Let's go eat~!" He burst out of the closet and dashed out of the house.
"What the—Patches, WAIT!" I chased after him as he took the exact route Karrie always went when we weren't at Master's house. In the matter of a few minutes, Patches had managed to reach the entrance of the Cafe, whose lights were on, yet the doors were locked. "Darn. Don't worry, Patches, we've got stuff at ho—"
"Hold on, didn't Master say once that tsukorigamis can pass through walls~?" He paused, before attempting to slip through the door. He smacked right into it. "Guess I wasn't trying hard enough..." he tried again, multiple times in fact, to phase through the transparent doors.
"Patches, please. We can try this again in the morning when the doors aren't locked."
"No! I've got this I promise!" He took a deep breath, before hurling himself at the door and flying straight through it. He yelped before hitting the ground with a thump. He then turned and waved at me, as I stood there, shocked he actually manage to pull it off. "Don't worry, Big Brother! You don't have to do it!" He got up and unlocked the door from the inside, letting me in. It looked just as I'd remembered it, just as fancy as before. There were even some cake and sweets already in the case. Patches sighed. "The sweets already look good from here...do you want anything before me, Big Brother?" I shook myself no.
"I'm not hungry. Besides, it's your hunger that matters right now. I'll wait here."
"Awww~!" Patches went a little red. "You really are the sweetest~! And speaking of which..." he immediately dashed over to the back of the case, where he stared at the selection of stuff he could eat. Moments passed before he chomped down on one of the cakes. He gulped, and his eyes got that strange, sparkly look again. "Razzle dazzle...! It's...so good...!" He paused, then scarfed the rest of the slices down greedily. He looked up at me, frosting all over his...everything, before slurping it all up with his green tongue. He giggled, then looked back to the rest of the stuff that he'd left untouched. "You sure you don't want anything, Big Brother?" I shook my head again.
"I told you, I'm not hungry." I said, now that I'd witnessed the sloppy mess that my brother created. He said nothing, and only gave me a look of understanding before focusing back on his sweets, swallowing entire cupcakes whole. I looked away, disgusted. I couldn't just sit here and torture myself while I wait for him. I wanted to yell at him to stop being a sloppy child, but this was his first time eating, and I didn't want to ruin it for him. I sighed, then propped myself up against the window. I was gonna have to sit through this. After a while, I started to feel...empty. Not sad empty, empty like a box of air. I frowned. I was starting to get hungry, too. But Patches had everything to himself. And I had nothing. Thinking, I remembered that the place also served coffee on occasion. But coffee tasted bitter, and supposedly bitter was a bad flavor. I decided to wander for a little while, looking for something else to fill my empty stomach. There were a couple of jugs on a side counter, filled with something that seemed cold. I initially detested the idea of something cold in the middle of winter, but...
Rumble...
My stomach wasn't going to have it any other way. Hesitantly, I drank whatever substance was in that stupid metal jug, and...it was actually good. Kinda creamy and silky, and definitely filling. I sighed in relief, before deciding to maybe, just maybe have a few more gulps and then go.
Maybe a few more.
Okay, a few more wouldn't hurt.
Before I knew it, I realized I had sucked the whole thing dry. Letting the jug go, I noticed there were still two more jugs filled with what was probably the same liquid. I could feel myself drooling and losing self-control by the second. Can I...? Should I...?
Gulp. Too late, conscience. Already latched onto the second jug, and gulping up the liquid. And there we were. Two siblings gorging ourselves in a cafe in the middle of the night. Patches was clattering around the dessert cabinets, scarfing every single morsel there was and leaving nothing behind, and I was practically draining every single jug on the counter.
By the time we were done with the place, our stomachs were satisfied and full to bursting. I was left on my side, half asleep. However, I had to wake myself up, because I had to find Patches before the place opened. I got up and looked around, but Patches was nowhere to be seen.
"Patches? Where are you?" I called out. No response. I hovered around, looking for him amongst the sloppy trays and pie tins. And I thought I was the one who had over eaten...there was nothing left of the dessert cabinet. Everything was gone. He cleared out the whole darn cafe. "Patches? Patches, come on! We have to go home!" I called out again, much louder.
"*Slurp~!*Gulp!*" I looked over to the source of the sound and saw Patches, who was finishing up an unusually large parfait. He waved at me with an eyestalk, still licking ice cream off of his face. "Hi, Big Brother~! Where ya been?"
"Looking for you," I said. "Looks like you enjoyed your first meal, huh?" He leaned against the dessert cabinet and sighed.
"Mhm~! Every last bite of it! *burp*" He perked up in surprise before giggling. "'Scuse me~! No more cake for—*BU-URP~!*" I rolled my eyes.
"At the very least, you could close your mouth, you sloppy thing."
"I'm sorry, big brother—*burp*—I can't help it~! Ehe~!" I got up and hovered away frustratedly.
"If you don't stop that, I'm leaving without you." I threatened, half joking. He gasped, then started to whimper.
"B-but..." He looked up and wiggled his eyestalks desperately."I need you to carry me~! My tummy's too full to move...!" I groaned, unable to leave him in his poor, more-stuffed-than-a-turkey state, and begrudgingly hoisted him up by tying both of our bows together. I tried my hardest not to collapse under his weight, but he was heavy!
"How much cake did you eat?!" I exclaimed as I wobbled to and fro under his weight.
"Ummm...well, I had 3 cheesecakes, 20 cupcakes, 2 chocolate cakes, 3 deluxe parfaits—"
"Okay, stop. A: I did not need to know that. And B: How?"
"You'd be surprised at how much I can fit in here~!" He pat his belly with an eyestalk. "I'm surprised at how much I can fit in here~!" I finally managed to regain balance and muster up the strength to carry him out of the cafe. As we hovered back home, Patches asked,
"I haven't heard your stomach rumble yet. Are you still not hungry?" I looked away and blushed a bit.
"W-well, I actually got a little peckish, so I had some liquid from a jug."
"Oh! Was it good~?"
"Yeah, yeah it was...b-but I only had a little bit!" I lied, not wanting to sound like a glutton.
"Hmmm...speaking of liquids...it's a shame they didn't have any milk there..."
"Milk? Why?"
"Cause I heard milk tastes good with sweets..."
"Patches, milk is for babies." I scowled.
"What's with you and your hatred for "baby stuff" and being called names?"
"Because I'm the older brother. Older brothers don't eat baby stuff and aren't called baby names. Younger brothers do that." I told him. "It is the way it is, Patches."
"Ah...I see. So if I were the older brother..." he gasped. "Then I couldn't eat cake then! Cause cake is eaten by babies too, right?"
"Exactly." I said. Patches blew a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness for that~! And speaking of cake..." He audibly licked his lips. "Think we have more cake at home?" I glared at him.
"Really? You still want cake? Didn't you just say you were "too full to move"?"
"Ahuhu~! Well...a couple more slices wouldn't hurt, right?" I sighed.
"You never learn, do you?" Patches only giggled, wriggling happily as we approached home.
"G'mornin', big brother~!" Patches nudged me awake, forcing me to open my eyes.
"Mmmm...what do you want...?" I said groggily.
"It's breakfast time~!" He said excitedly.
"Breakfast...?"
"Yeah! We're goin' to the cafe to have breakfast~!" I squinted.
"Are you sure the place'll even have anything in stock? You cleared out the whole place last night. In fact..." I gave him a suspicious look. "How are you even hungry?"
"Ahuhu~! That doesn't matter! Come onnnnn, big brother~! Let's goooooo!" I groaned. There was no denying a little brother who now loved cake more than anything else in the world.
"Fine. We're going, we're going..." Patches joyously cheered, and the two of us zipped over to Cafe Shanista. Surprisingly, the place was completely restocked, as if the previous night never happened. Those bakers must work fast. There were a lot of people there, too. Patches and I pushed our way through the now unlocked door, and before Patches could dash away, I grabbed his bow. "Now hold on." He turned and gave me a confused look. "There are people here now, Patches, so no gorging today. Be more mindful and careful, please?" Patches gave me a nod and snuck away. Of course, we knew not to be too cautious; from the stories Master told us, we knew that most tsukuma-blahblahs were invisible. But still, we couldn't risk causing a ruckus. I kept an eye on Patches, who was sneaking one of those large parfaits away as quietly as he could. Knowing he was most likely okay, I decided to go get something for myself, maybe that liquid in those jugs. I hovered over a couple of heads and, I had no idea why but, I almost...wanted to bite down on those instead. As soon as the thought crossed my mind, I stopped moving.
The heck are you thinking about? I thought. Biting on people's heads? Why? I answered my own question with one word:
Memories.
I blinked, surprised at my own answer. I shook the thought and continued on my way, but it always tried to creep back into my head. It got to the point where if looked down at the people's heads for too long, I'd start to drool. Why? What was happening to me? Was I sick? I sighed. It was probably an instinct, one I was trying to fight. It felt awful, but I gave in, biting on a young man's head and starting to chew. I felt myself swallowing...something. I couldn't tell what it was, but it was good, and I didn't let go until that taste faded away. Once I released, the man suddenly got up, and left the building, even abandoning his cake slice that he'd barely eaten. It was like he'd completely forgotten what he was doing. My mind started to race. Did I do that? I...I did! I did do that! I have an ability! I'm not sure what purpose it serves me, but it's an ability! And as a bonus, I felt just a little bit fuller. I picked up the cake slice and carried it over to Patches, who had just finished up the parfait.
"Oh! For me~? Thank you, Big Brother~!" He tilted himself in confusion. "But where'd you get it from?" Overcome with excitement, I decided to boast.
"Just a little byproduct of my new power!" I smiled proudly.
"Woah~! You can spawn cake out of thin air?" My smile faded a bit.
"...No. But how about I show you what I can do?" I asked.
"Oh! Yes, please!" Patches exclaimed before gulping up the cake slice in one bite. I smirked before dashing off, looking for a person with some more desserts that Patches could eat. I scanned the area, before finding a family of four, two of them having pancakes, and two having cake. Bingo.
"Yo! You watching this?" I called back to Patches and he nodded. Immediately, I chomped on the oldest man's head, ate whatever memories I found, then moved on to the next family member. I managed to make them forget what they were doing in less than two minutes, and the family all left their stuff on the table. "*Phew...* See? Piece of cake! Help yourself!" Patches got up and immediately scarfed the remainders of their meals.
"*Gulp* Coooool~!" His eyes were sparkling in amazement. "Do you think I could do that~?" I shrugged.
"Eh. Maybe. You want anything else?"
"Not yet~! I wanna see if I can do anything!" He rushed over to another person, a serious, sophisticated-looking woman, and mimicked what I did, biting down on her head. Her eyes went swirled like ours, and at first, nothing seemed to have happened. But then the girl started to dance. Not on the ground, but on top of the table she was sitting at. She was singing awfully too, drawing the whole cafe's attention. She only stopped when she got the brilliant idea to dump a cup of coffee on her face as a finisher, snapping her out of the trance and forcing Patches to let go. She was okay, but as soon as she realized what situation she was in, gosh, her face was redder than her dress. She tried to play it off as if nothing happened, and some other people tried too, but a majority of the guests just kept on staring at her. Patches hovered over to me, spitting out the remnants of the bitter coffee. I immediately comforted him and cleaned him up with a cloth.
"Patches, are you okay? What happened?" Patches laughed.
"That was fun~! I didn't get rid of anything, but that was fun~!"
"What did you do?"
"Well, I went on up to her, bit on her head like you did, and then she started to dance! She looks embarrassed but..." He looks back over to the woman, who was now smiling. "She had fun! I know it~!" Patches thought for a second, before lightbulbing. "I got it! My power is making people have fun~! Making people happy~!" He sighed. "Oh, this is all I could've ever wanted~! If I could do it on someone who's feeling bad...then I can make it better! I can make people feel better, Big Brother~!" He was spinning and twirling all over the place, gleefully giggling all the while. He then looked over to the empty plates he'd left behind. "Hmmm...I'm gonna go get some more cake for myself, Big Brother. You go eat up, too! We've got a whole new life ahead of us~!" And with that, he bounded away happily towards the dessert cabinets.
"Wait! Aren't you gonna have a little fun?" I called out.
"Hmmm~? With what?" He turned to me.
"With your new powers, you idiot! You aren't gonna test them out a little more?" I felt excited, overcome with a new sense of pride and power.
"Maybe after I eat a little. Making that lady dance was ti-er-ing!"
"Fine then. Suit yourself." I said before hovering off. I wasn't going out of the cafe, of course, just waiting to ambush some folks and see what I can do. I watched as a man in a suit entered through the doors, talking with someone on the phone. He looked absolutely fuming, and his yells were distracting everyone in the area. As quickly as I could, I lunged forward and bit down on the man's head, draining him of his angry memories, and making him forget why he was so mad at whoever was on the other end of the line. He paused for a second, only to continue to talk on the phone with the person, albeit much more calmly. I giggled, only for the taste to finally hit me like a rock.
It was hot. Really hot. I let go immediately, sent into a coughing fit by the sudden heat. I could practically feel my lungs collapsing as I continued to wheeze. As I gathered a little bit of composure I dashed over to the jugs on the counter to cool myself off. In a few gulps, I was mostly back to normal, the remnants of the hot flavor still tingling my tongue. Surprisingly, Patches didn't see nor hear a thing, as he was too focused on his breakfast. As I breathed away the rest of the spice, someone else in need of a memory wipe caught my attention. It was a young boy, who was being unmistakably bubbly and happy. That would've been fine if he wasn't pestering everyone else because of his jumping and incessant yelling.
Carefully, I eased up behind the kid, before biting down on his head. He completely shut his trap as I drained whatever silly or giddy memory he had. As soon as the memory's extremely sweet, delicious taste left my mouth, I gulped and released myself. He stayed silent, unable to remember what made him so giddy and annoying. In a few seconds though, the kid began to blabber about something else. I rolled my eyes and decided to move on. There were many people I had my eyes on now. Women, men, children, all having memories they'd be able to give up. As I leaped up and chomped on their heads one by one, multitudes of flavors came across my tongue. Bitter memories, sweet memories, spicy memories, and even ones that were bland were all removed. I topped it all off by even removing the memory of a whole weekend from a man's head. As I released, I huffed in triumph, hitting a high point I'd never hit before.
"Razzle dazzle~!" Patches cried out. I turned and noticed he was peeking out from behind the dessert cabinet. From his muffled speech, I could tell his face was most likely stuffed with cake. His eyes were sparkling with admiration. "That was so cool~!"
"It is really cool, isn't it?" I said with pride. "You're done with breakfast, aren't you?" Patches nodded and licked a bit of frosting from his face. "So how about we go play with our powers? Stretch 'em out more? Test our limits?" Patches's eyes sparkled.
"Oooh, yes please!" he exclaimed as he jumped up and geared up to leave.
"Come on, then! We have work to do!" Patches cheered, and we exited the building our new powers at hand.
As we hovered out of the building, Patches was spinning and twirling like no tomorrow.
"We're gonna make people happy~! We're gonna make people happy~!" He sang. "But...Where are we gonna make people happy?"
"Simple; Everywhere!" I exclaimed. "We just wander around and search. No place is perfect, sometimes you gotta jump around."
"Ohh." Patches's eyes then sparkled with excitement. "Can I pick the first place? Please, please, can I?"
"Sure," I said, "As long as it's not the bakery."
"S'not the bakery!" Patches cried. "I wanna go...to the school!" Of course! The school had plenty of people to see and plenty of minds to scramble...
"Patches, you genius! That's perfect!" I cried.
"Aw, shucks, me? Genius? Noooo..." Patches flushed a slight pink. I gave him a small pat between his eyestalks.
"You softie." I chuckled before turning north towards Uptown. "Onward!" I dashed off, and Patches followed suit. We were going so fast that the trip felt like seconds. We both arrived at the big gate at the same time, where the doors were shut tight. A class was going on. Thankfully, we were able to phase through the door and get into the school with little difficulty. The inside looked just as familiar as ever, with pastel colors making up a majority of the palette. Now, to test. The first classroom we saw was chosen to be our test run. It was a simple little kindergarten class, in the middle of a lesson.
"So what do we do?" Patches asked as we peeked into the classroom.
"Hmmm...Ah! See that guy? The tallest man?" I motioned to the teacher. "I'll take him. You take the students."
"All of em?!" Patches seemed shocked. "But there's only one of me!"
"You'll be fine. Just jump around from student to student. It's not that hard."
"Oh...Okay!"
After discussing the plan, we leaped into action. I quickly grabbed the teacher by his head and slurped up any memories of the lesson. He gasped, then looked around in confusion.
"Where am I?" He asked. I smiled proudly at my success, regardless of how small it was. I felt powerful nonetheless. Patches bit down on one of the kids' heads, causing him to get up and start to obnoxiously sing. As he hopped from person to person, they each began to either sing or use school supplies as instruments. The ruckus was awful...but hilarious to watch. The teacher desperately tried to regain control, even if he had no idea what he was doing in the room. Patches made eye contact with me and smiled widely.
"Did I do good? Did I?" He asked, eyes sparkling with anticipation. I nodded.
"Oh, yeah. This...is amazing." Patches happily cheered, before looking around for another classroom. I watched him spot a sad, disappointed looking child walk down the hall. Curious, he followed him. Not wanting to leave my brother behind, I followed as well. Patches followed the boy for a while, occasionally listening to his seemingly unintelligible mumbles. Then, he bit his head. It wasn't as forceful as before though. It was soft, restrained as if he wanted to hold his powers back. Instead of going completely ballistic like the class did, the kid just perked up and smiled. He then gladly skipped down the hall. "The heck were you doing?" I asked as he watched the kid walk away.
"I think he was sad 'cause he got in trouble. So I made him feel better by using my power!" He then looked at me. "I just wanted to do somethin' nice."
"Good for you. Now let's move on." I said flatly. There was a pause from Patches, and he looked a little shocked, only to cheer up.
"Okay, big brother!" he cried. We then moved on. As we traveled, the bell suddenly rang, and kids started to get out of class and leave.
"Darn. Ah, well. There are other places. Hmm..." I stared at the heads and picked one of a blonde haired girl. "Follow her!" Obediently, Patches followed. The girl went all the way to Blossom Heights and entered one of the houses. As we entered, Patches tugged on my bow.
"Is this okay? Why're we here?"
"Why not? Isn't a family a good test?"
"Hmm...maybe..." Patches pondered. While he thought, I waited for the right opportunity to strike, just to see what would happen. The girl started to talk to her mother, who soon asked.
"What kind of homework do you have?" Bingo. I struck the girl in the head and gulped up her homework memories. The only words she could muster up now were,
"I don't remember." The mother looked a little annoyed, but nothing too bad.
"Any tests?" She asked. I struck, draining her memory again.
"I dunno." she then responded. The mother's face got a little red.
"Can you even remember a thing today?!" She cried. Once more, I struck, trying to hold back laughter as Mrs. Tomato Face grew even redder.
"Wh-Who are you?" The teen asked. The mother cried out in frustration, and I burst out laughing. This was fun. Really fun. Patches didn't share my happiness, however, and my laughter faded as he gave me a concerned look.
"Big brother, what's gotten into you?" I blinked, then snickered.
"I dunno," I said, mocking the teen. Patches only stared.
"I thought we weren't going to be bad...you...said we weren't gonna be—"
"Aw, come on! This is fun! Why don't you have fun? Aren't you all about fun?" Patches stayed silent, only to start to tear up.
"But...this is getting mean...! This isn't fun...!"
"I thought you thought these powers were cool! What happened?" Patches sniffled.
"Because you weren't harming anybody. I..." he gulped a lump in his throat. "I don't wanna do this anymore...I wanna go home..." I scowled.
"Why? Are you jealous? Is that it?" I laughed. "Figures. Who needs to act stupid anyway? Everyone needs to forget things. No one needs a fool." Patches's lip started to quiver. "So go home. Go on." Patches started to sniffle more, then burst into tears before running away. I huffed. He didn't understand. If he knew what it was like to have so much power...he'd act the same way. Who else wouldn't wanna manipulate some folks with a new power? Power is fun. I grew bored with the house at this point and decided to go to a place with the most commotion of all of the buildings. The train station.
Dashing away to Downtown, I manage to make it to the station at rush hour. After approaching a small group that was talking in the corner, I made them each forget a little piece of their conversation, causing them to argue over details that they "remembered". I zipped over to a man and made him forget his train. I spread the chaos farther and farther, making people forget things repeatedly, or just once to send them into a frenzy. Once I was through, everyone was confused and dizzy and flabbergasted like no tomorrow. It was beautiful, and I was feeling more powerful and prideful by the second. Giving my work time to sort itself out, I left the station, stomach full of memories. I sat myself down on the stairs and sighed. This was a great day...I looked at myself in the reflective stairs and smiled. I couldn't wait to tell Patche—
...Patches...
My smile faded, and I felt my heart ache. I remembered what I had done to him only an hour before. How he looked. What he said.
"Big brother, what's gotten into you?" his voice echoed. My mind started to whirl with thoughts.
What is wrong with me? What have I done? I don't deserve power. Not after this. He hates me. He hates me, doesn't he? What have I done? What have I done?
Tears were streaming down my face and flowing down the stairs. What would I do now? I couldn't go home. What would Patches say? He wouldn't forgive me. What I did before looked sane compared to this.
No. I had to go home. I had to be a man. I couldn't be a baby and just hide forever. No. No! I'd go home, and apologize!
Heart aching and tears dripping, I swallowed my ego and took the float of shame home. I watched as my tears hit the sidewalks, only to quickly evaporate. I was so occupied with my own tears, that I bumped into the door of Karrie's house once I reached it. I looked up, took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and phased through the door.
I wandered throughout the house and eventually made it to our room. As soon as I entered, I could hear the heartbroken cries of my poor brother. I gulped, easing myself towards the closet and carefully opening the door. Tears were pouring from Patches's eyes, and he was sobbing uncontrollably into the wall.
"Patches?" Upon hearing my voice, he turned around.
"*sniffle*...You...you're here?" His lip quivered. "I thought you were out there, doing bad things..." I nodded.
"I was, but...I decided to come home. I...maybe...maybe missed you just a little bit." Patches's eyes sparkled.
"Really?" he asked. "...Are you staying?"
"Of course I am. And just for you, I'll see if I can make people happy like you do tomorrow." Patches took a second to process everything, before pouncing on top of me.
"Big brother, you're back~! You're really back~!" He nuzzled me uncontrollably while I stroked him with an eyestalk.
"Glad to have you back too, Patches." I blinked the last of my tears away, before trying to talk to the ecstatic Patches as he crushed me. "How about we go to Cafe Shanista, just for you? I've already eaten plenty..." I flushed, embarrassed at my memory eating in hindsight. Patches stopped snuggling me and slid off.
"Mm-mm." he propped himself against the wall, sighed, and closed his eyes. "Crying makes me tired. I wanna sleep." I sighed and gave him a small pat between his eyestalks.
"Only you, Patches. Only you." I paused, before breathing in deeply. "Love you." Patches's eyes snapped open, and he stared at me intently. I braced, and sure enough, he once again snuggled me tightly.
"Love you too~!" he cooed, before immediately falling asleep. I pet him gently once more, eventually cuddling up to his soft warmth. I was so glad to be home...
"Keep going, big brother!" Patches called out from behind me, shoving cake in his face. "You've got this!" His positivity was not helping my nausea. I had consumed ten negative memories too many and I'd never felt so much pain in my life. I scanned each of the people's faces, looking for one last sad person to end this torture.
Thankfully, a man entered, looking just as sad as the previous people I had spotted. Immediately I struck, getting a grip on his head and tasting around for a sad memory. I'd recognize it right when I tasted it. Wait for it...wait for it...there it was! The guy was thinking about a past event, one that happened a long time ago and was quite a painful memory from what I could taste. It was the worst one that I had tasted, and I could just barely stomach it. I released as soon as I swallowed and thank goodness the guy was happier. "*Urp...* Can I stop now?" I couldn't stop gagging, and I thought I was going to die. Patches frowned, and brought me a jug from the counter to make me feel better.
"Of course, big brother." I took a couple sips, and my stomach simmered down a little. "You made people happy today, and that's worth a break! You did it, big brother, and I'm proud of you!"
"Yaaaay..." I collapsed, absolutely relieved.
"Rest your tummy, big brother." He gave me a warm smile and laid down next to me. "I'm gonna rest mine too~!" I gently placed myself down, leaving the jug on the table. I looked at Patches, who was completely covered in sprinkles and icing. I could tell by the color that he must've had a taste for chocolate that day. I would've told him off for it and forced him to wash up, but what's the point? He's Patches; he's gonna do whatever makes him happy.
And as long as he's happy, I guess I'll be happy too.