Sho loved baby animals of all kinds, even snakes.
Snakes were cool. They felt all cool and scaly and it was fun to watch them swallow stuff…well not other animals because that was sad…but he did like going to zoos and watching snakes swallow other stuff. Like the time he saw a snake swallow an American football…that had been cool. These snakes were still a way off from swallowing anything though, they were still in their eggs. Well one was sticking his head out of this cut in the egg…and maybe that was good. Maybe that meant that he was ready to be born…but then…then that would have been a bad thing. The momma snake had to come back and take care of her babies. That was what moms did, they took care of their babies, and momma snake…she was coming back soon….
She had to. Her babies were being born.
"Mom, come on. You have to come home. Your kids need you." Said Sho. He reached down and poked the baby snake's egg with his finger. Snake eggs felt weird. They were a lot softer than bird eggs, and there was a lot more give, or maybe because this one was hatching there was more give. Sho had seen baby birds hatching before, they made a bunch of holes to get out, but this snake had only made one hole…maybe it was just getting ahead of its self. All of it's brothers and sisters were still in their eggs. Maybe that was why the momma snake had left. Maybe she had gone off to find food and…and she hadn't expected her babies to be ready to hatch yet. Maybe that was it.
Sho hoped she came back to…it was a sad thing to be alone.
Not that he knew anything about being alone, no, he had his sister. She would always be with him, she had said so, and she would love him no matter what. She had said that too. She wasn't just talking when she said things like that, she meant them. She loved him and would never stop loving him…even though she knew the truth. Well she knew one of the things about him that he had been keeping from her…and she hadn't been mad. She hadn't been mad that he had been keeping it a secret from her for years and she hadn't been mad or weirded out that he even liked boys in the first place….and she was great like that. She loved him and stuff and she would never leave him alone.
Not like the baby snake's mom.
"Hey big sis! Come here!" shouted Sho. She was off in the front of the yard looking for the birdie. Well not yard, just a strip of grass really, but still the birdie could have been there. He had hit it hard and it was windy out today….and he really needed to be more careful. They hadn't been playing for points or anything, if they had been then the game would have been much shorter, so he shouldn't have been so competitive and stuff….but it was ok. Even if she hadn't found the birdie he had found some baby snakes buried in the garden.
And who didn't love snakes?
"Big sis, really! It's important!" shouted Sho. Where was she? He could feel her getting closer but she was moving so slowly…and she had to hurry up before the babies were all born and they slithered away or their mom came back or something.
"Sho, did you find the birdie yet?" asked Mob as she came up to where Sho was. He was staring at something in the garden patch. His racket was abandoned next to him and…well he didn't need his racket to find the birdie…but he also had to actually look around to find the birdie….unless he didn't want to play anymore….
Well that was ok. He was in the lead as always so there was no way for her to win.
Not that they had even been playing for points. There was no point in it. She wanted Sho to win, he wanted to win, and she was bad at playing hit the birdie anyways so, really, it was ok for Sho to be declared the winner every single time. She was just happy to be able to play with him…and she wanted to play with him some more…but if he didn't want to then that was ok. She just hoped that she could be included in whatever he wanted to play next.
Even if they were digging for earth worms or some other garden thing that he liked to do.
"No, but I found something better. Come and see! Quick!" said Sho. He tugged on big sis with his powers. She had to see this! This was the coolest thing that he had ever seen in his life! Or at least this week! He wished that he had his phone with him. He needed to take a picture. There was a baby snake sticking his head out of his shell! This was so cool!
He wished that Shimazaki had been there to see this…well to be there for this. He liked animals too…
But Sho was not going to think about Shimazaki now. He had work to do today, everyone did, and that…that was ok. Sho didn't want to hang out with him anyway. Even though he would have thought that all of this with the baby snakes was the coolest thing ever and he would have thought that Sho was so cool for having found them and him thinking that Sho was cool for finding snakes would have cancelled out his uncoolness for the stupid thing he had done with the homemade tattoos and…
And he needed to stop thinking about Shimazaki right now or else….well he didn't know what the or else was but he knew that he needed to stop!
"Is it more worms? Because…well I'll help you dig for worms just so long as we aren't tricking anyone into thinking that they're noodles or putting them in Hatori's bed." Said Mob as she came up beside Sho. He was pointing at…a hole in the ground? Much too big for earth worms…unless he had found a big family of them…but she really didn't want to dig to for worms right now…but she did love her brother…
It wasn't earthworms.
She kneeled down on the ground beside Sho. It looked like he had buried some eggs….lumpy ones. Not the kind that they ate. These were shaped weird and were lumpy…and one of them had a slit in the top. She had never seen anything like this…and Sho had been right. This was cool. She had no idea what she was looking at but not knowing what it was…well that was really cool too.
But it would have been cooler if she knew what she was looking at.
"Big sis, look. Baby snakes." Said Sho. He reached over and touched the egg with the slit in it. This was really soft and kind of floppy…not like a bird's egg at all. This was so cool! They had snakes right in their own backyard! He wished that Shimazaki was here, he loved touching new things, but also he was glad that Shimazaki wasn't there because if he had been there then Sho would have been all worried about looking cool and being in love and he wouldn't have been able to enjoy the babies being born.
This was so cool!
"Snakes!?" said Mob. She loved animals…all of them…but snakes were just…she didn't know. She didn't hate them or anything but….there had been snakes in her backyard! She tried to scoot back but Sho grabbed her hand. He was brining it over to the egg with the slit in it…and not she could see…that was a snake head and….
And maybe it was best if she just left it alone.
"Don't be scared, big sis, they're just babies. Here, feel the egg shell. It's really cool." Said Sho as he tried to bring big sis's hand over to the egg. She would love this. Who didn't love snakes? They were cool! They were so cool and if Shimazaki had been there….well that didn't matter. Big sis was here and that was what mattered. She liked snakes. He had heard her say that she liked snakes ones. She had thought that the snake from the Jungle Book, the cartoon not the real people one, was cool. Yeah. They could name one of the snakes Kaa and then that snake could be hers and the rest could be his. That is if the momma snake didn't come back.
Sometimes moms didn't come back but that was ok because he and big sis were here.
"I-I'll take your word for it. Anyway come on…I bet the mom is going to come back and be mad that we were messing with her eggs. Remember when the baby birds' mom pecked your head last summer?" asked Mob. OK, there were snakes out here in their own backyard. That was fine. This was nature and snakes belonged in nature…and maybe they should just…go inside for the rest of the day…just so that they didn't disturb the snakes or anything like that.
"Wait, no. We have to be here for the snakes to be born. You know, in case the mom doesn't come back." Said Sho. She was acting crazy. So what if the mom came back and bit them? He didn't care. These baby snakes needed them. What if their mom didn't come back? What if their mom had been hit by a car or eaten by a mongoose or something? These baby snakes were too little. They couldn't fend for themselves. They were just little and they were all the same age….they were all the same age so there was no big sister snake to take care of all of them. There was no big sister snake to tuck them into their snake beds and tell them snake stories and run them snake baths and make them snake dinners…or whatever snake families did. They didn't have anyone in the whole world to take care of them….
And they needed someone to take care of them and that someone was Sho.
"I don't think that these are ready to be born yet." Said Mob. She knew that Sho liked animals and she knew that she should have been a good big sister and just stayed there with him but…well she didn't want to watch the snakes being born. The one that was coming out of his eggs right now was looking at her…and it's eyes were black and empty and…and it was looking through her. It was looking right through her and…and it was waiting for her to come near…and…and she didn't hate that snake or any snakes but…but maybe if was best to leave them alone to be born in peace. She knew that if she had been a baby coming out of an egg…well out of mom because people came from their moms, she wouldn't have wanted people staring at her and stuff. Yeah, maybe that was why that baby snake wasn't moving. They had to leave now and just…let the baby snakes be born in peace.
"Yes they are, see? That one keeps on sticking his head out." Said Sho. He pointed at the baby frog….he'd be called Slithers. That one would be Slithers and the one in the egg next to him would be called Slippy and the one in the egg next to Slippy would be called Scaly and then the other egg, the one with the big lump, would called….um…Hissy…and then…well he'd think up another name later…and he'd remember their names, too, because it was important to call people by their names. Not just Son and Daughter. He could call each and every single one of those snakes by their names and he would love them all no matter what.
He could be a good snake brother.
"But if they're ready to be born the where's the baby snakes' mom?" asked Mob. She hoped that the mom came home soon…well no because she would be mad at them…but also she wanted the mom to come back so that Sho could leave those baby snakes alone. She…she knew that wild animals belonged in the wild. That was why mom had never let her and Sho bring the squirrels that she caught with her powers into the house. Wild animals belonged in the wild…and also snakes weren't even cute like squirrels were.
"I don't know but we can't leave them alone. Someone has to keep them safe and I guess that's going to be us." Said Sho. He knew what he'd do. He'd made a dirt nest for them in his angry closet, he could be angry somewhere else, and then he could feed them mice…that was sad but that was also how the food chain worked…or maybe he could just get them meat at the store or something…and then…well dad never noticed him unless he was doing something bad…and he would just avoid dad for the rest of his life and…yeah. This was a good idea.
"But….Sho…wild animals belong in the wild." Said Mob. No. There was no way that they were going to take care of these snakes. She didn't know how to take care of snakes. She had enough to do as it was. She was not going to live the rest of her life in the yard taking care of baby snakes. She really didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night and have to give the baby snakes their bottles…and she had no idea where she would even get snake bottles…or snake milk for that matter. She didn't want to have to go and find snakes and milk them…well they would probably have snake milk at the pet store…wait, no, these were reptiles. They didn't even drink milk…but then what did baby snakes eat?
There. She was not ready to be a snake caretaker.
"I know…but their mom is gone. Who's going to take care of them? They're only babies. They're going to get eaten by a mongoose or something out here." Said Sho. What was with her? Why didn't she see that these babies needed them? Didn't she know that babies needed someone to take care of them? She was being so weird.
"Are there wild mongooses in Osaka?" asked Mob. She wished that Sho had found some baby mongooses, those were cute, and also…well she didn't gate snakes but…she didn't want there to be a nest of snakes right there in her backyard.
"I don't know, maybe….but there are other animals out here, too, and we have to keep these baby snakes safe." Said Sho. He reached down to pick up the egg with slithers in it but big sis grabbed his arm and shook her head. What? What was so hard for her to understand about this situation? The snakes needed them and they didn't have time to waste!
"Sho, what if these are poisonous snakes? Minegishi grew up here and they said that there are Mamushi snakes here. What if you get bit?" asked Mob. She had no idea what a Mamushi snake was but Minegishi had warned her about them…and Mob didn't need to be told to stay away from snakes. Even though she didn't hate them…she just knew enough to leave them alone.
"What's a Mamushi snake look like?" asked Sho. If these were venomous snakes then he would love them just the same. They couldn't help it, being venomous, and he would never hate someone for something out of their control like that.
"I don't know but they might be these snakes. What if these snakes end up being poisonous?" asked Mob. If these snakes were poisonous then…well then they would die of snake poisoning….and she didn't want that. Well Fukuda was there but…well she didn't want to spend more time with Fukuda than she needed to. Just…no. She was going to have to say 'no' to the snakes…well as best as she could. She knew that if she just said 'no' then Sho would be upset with her…and she didn't want that…but she also didn't want snakes in the house.
"Venomous. When something poisons you by venom then they're venomous…and if they are and we get big then Fukuda can fix it…and don't worry, I'll make him be nice to you if you get bit….but just to be safe try not to touch their heads." Said Sho
"Sho…come on. You know that dad isn't going to let you take care of these snakes…and you know that he's going to notice if we start living in the yard." Said Mob. That must have been what Sho meant. The two of them living in the yard and taking care of the baby snakes. Dad would have noticed and then he would have said something and then he would have made them get rid of the baby snakes because he hated animals and then Sho would have been sad…and she didn't want Sho to be sad…so really the best thing to do was just to leave the baby snakes in the garden where they belonged. She wished that Sho could understand that…she did.
"We wouldn't live in the yard, big sis, we'd bring them into the house and-" said Sho. Once she heard his plan she would say yes. She wasn't like dad, she liked animals, and she liked snakes. Who didn't like snakes? They were cool! They could play with the snakes once hey hatched and wear them like scarves and maybe if the snakes got old enough they could have more baby snakes and then they could have a closet full of snakes! Who didn't want a closet a full of snakes?!
"Sho! We can't have snakes in the house! Dad would definitely notice…and also there would be snakes in the house!" said Mob. That was just…no. Dad…he had never even let them have a cat and cats were sweet and cute. Snakes were scaly and they had black eyes that looked through you…and also she just didn't want snakes slithering loose in the house.
"Big sis….come on. If we found a bunch of baby eggs out in the yard then you'd take care of them." Said Sho. He knew that babies did not come from eggs. He just had to make this into something that she understood. It was like how baby sis's mom had left her with them…only this time it was with snakes. He loved these snakes…well not as much as he loved her…but he did love these snakes. They had names and once you gave something a name then you would have to love them forever. That was just how naming things worked.
"Sho…baby humans don't come from eggs…I mean girls have eggs inside of them but not like that…why don't you come inside and I have a book I can show you and then you can understand where babies come from." Said Mob. She knew that dad would never tell Sho where babies came from…and she had thought the Shimazaki and the others told Sho how all of that worked…but she could get out the books that Minegishi had gotten her and she could show Sho how everything worked…well from a girl's perspective….she needed to get some boy books for him. She knew that dad wouldn't explain anything to him…but that was ok. Sometimes your parents didn't tell you things that you had to know. She was there and she would be there for her little brother no matter what.
"Big sis, I know that babies don't come from eggs…ok. What if some lady just left a bunch of her babies right here in our yard? Wouldn't you take care of them?" asked Sho. He had no idea why some lady would come into their yard just to leave them her babies, nobody knew that this was a Claw house and also it was hard to tell when a baby would turn into an esper anyway, but big sis would understand now. She would understand that they had to take care of these snakes because nobody else would.
"Sho…we both know that I would. We both know that if there were a bunch of baby humans here I would take care of all of them…and maybe dad would let us keep them…but these aren't humans. These are snakes and dad hates pets…ok? Now come on, let's go inside and…um…play Wii…or something….and we can just leave the snakes alone." Said Mob. She didn't want to take care of the snakes. She didn't know how to take care of snakes. The snakes had a mom and even if she was gone then maybe they could meet up with some other snakes…if reptiles even worked that way. She didn't know if they lived in families or not, Sho was the one who knew about animals, not her. She did know, however, that if she didn't know how to take care of something then maybe it was best that she just left it alone.
"Big sis….fine. You go and get the Wii set up…with Mario Party 6! That's the best one…or maybe the island one if you want…" said Sho. He knew what he had to do. He didn't like lying to her, and keeping secrets didn't feel good either, but this was one of those pragmatic choices that Fukuda had been telling him about. He could either leave these snakes all alone or he could just bring them out of the dirt and into his closet until they hatched and then he could help them grow up and then when they were adults he could let them back out into the wild…he didn't want to but he had to because when you loved someone you let them go.
"Ok…but please leave the snakes alone." Said Mob. She knew that Sho loved animals, and that he was a loving person, but she also knew that they could not have snakes in the house. Houses were for people and the outside was for animals. She loved Sho, she really did, and she knew that he would be much happier without dad punishing him for filling the house with snakes. It was better this way. She wanted to make him happy, especially since he was so unhappy because he was in love with Shimazaki and also Emmy and it was hard for him…but snakes were not the solution to his problems. Snakes were not the solutions to anyone's problems.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." Said Sho with a wave of his hand. He stayed still until he heard the backdoor open. He loved his big sis, and he hate lying to her, but sometimes you had to make pragmatic choices. Besides, it wasn't like she would ever stop loving him. She was a nice person that way. If she hadn't stopped loving him for being in love with Shimazaki then she wouldn't stop loving him for brining baby snakes into the house.
This was a good idea.
Sho knew that this was a good idea as he turned his shirt into a basket and picked the snakes up with his powers. He kept the snakes close to his stomach and held them up with his powers while he held his jacket closed. He had to move quickly, so she wouldn't notice. He made it halfway across the yard before he remembered that baby snakes needed dirt. He went back to the garden patch and filled his shirt with dirt, too, in addition to the eggs. There. Now the baby snakes would be happy…and all he wanted was for the snakes to be happy. He loved them after all and when you loved something then you wanted to make them happy.
Even baby snakes.