Fish needed a lot of room to swim.
Sho knew that now. He had never liked fish as a pet, you couldn't pet them or play with them or anything, but that didn't mean that he wanted to be mean to them. Fish deserved to be happy just as much as any other kind of animals. Even hamsters, even though fish couldn't compare to hamsters. His hamsters were ok, Fukuda hadn't put them in a tiny bowl with no filter and the wrong kind of rocks…
The rocks were important.
The cool rocks, the kind with colors, were bad for goldfish. These were way too big and there was too much coloring that could leak out and make them sick. Also they needed filters or else it was like they were suffocating. They needed tanks, too, not just bowls. Kind of like how people thought that hamsters were happy in those little cages with just a wheel or whatever but actually they needed a lot of tunnels and room to borrow and run around and have privacy with their hamster boyfriends and girlfriends so they could have and take care of their hamster families and stuff.
He knew that fish didn't have families but…well they deserved to be happy too.
"Fukuda! What is this!?" shouted Sho. The fish swam away. The couldn't hear but they could feel vibrations…he shook the table. This coffee table wasn't good for them. They needed to be up higher and on a more stable surface. His hamsters squeaked at him, a few of them…he shouldn't have shouted like that…
But what was he supposed to do? Kick down the bathroom door and drag Fukuda out?
"Fukuda! Get your ass out here!" shouted Sho. The fish swam away again…they needed more space. They needed…well he wasn't sure what else they needed. He should have asked Shiori more questions. She knew a lot about fish…like a whole lot about them. He should have asked what they liked to play with, how many friends they liked to have, and other important stuff too.
Like how to keep cats away from them.
"Go away, Meow-Meow, you have good food in your bowl. You don't even have to kill it." Said Sho. He pushed the cat out of the way with his powers. It had jumped up onto the table and watched the fish swim. They needed a tank with a cover. The cover was important for keeping the temperature steady. Water temperature was important, too, since fish weren't like hamsters. Their blood was cold and they had no fur. There was only one fish with fur, the fur bearing trout, but that wasn't a real thing. Most likely. Stranger things had happened…or at least Shiori had said so….she had said a lot of things. Mostly about fish.
She. Really. Liked. Fish.
"Don't look at me like that. Fish are friends, not food." Said Sho as he pushed the bowl away from the edge of the table. Some of the water sloshed out. Even the water level was important. Sho liked animals, sometimes even more than people, but…well it did seem like kind of a lot of work to put into an animal that you couldn't even pet…
These could be Fukuda's fish. He was so lonely, he needed them.
"Fukuda! Hey!" shouted Sho. That time it might have been loud enough. He heard the water stop. His hamsters all ran away from him, they evacuated into their tunnels, that was kind of cool. He'd taught them that back when he'd been teaching them about earthquakes and stuff. Hamsters were smart, they could learn all kinds of things.
Not like fish.
Sho watched the fish swimming around in their bowl. They weren't that interesting but they were there and alive and they needed him. Fukuda was a bad pet owner. Maybe that was why he'd never had any kids. If he couldn't even figure out that goldfish needed more than a tiny bowl then how would he know that kids needed more than a tiny…everything. World. That was it. Fukuda thought that kids needed a tiny world, one where he was always just…there. One where he was always trying to make you eat right. One where whenever you tried to sit down and watch TV he put a blanket around you and wrapped you up like a burrito. One where he still wouldn't let you have liquids at night even though you hadn't wet the bed in years. One where he even broke your poptart up for you sometimes because you weren't taking 'sensible bites' whatever the hell those were…
Sho was too big for all of that now.
Sho was the one who took care of others, not the other way around. He took care of his hamsters and his cat, Fukuda's cat, and he could take care of these fish too…but they would mostly be Fukuda's responsibility. He could hear the bathroom door opening. Good. He could explain to Fukuda about how to actually take care of fish and then he could go home and sleep for a little bit. He was tired…somehow the train ride had been the most tiring part of the trip and it had just been sitting down for three hours!
Maybe Mukai had the right idea about naps on long train rides.
But then again maybe not. She'd woken up when they got to Tokyo and been in a bad mood ever since. Tsuchiya had picked her right up and carried her inside when they'd gotten home. That was good, moms were good at that kind of thing. Big Sisters too. Big Sis had gone right to Serizawa, he had been really sad and scared to have gotten home before her. Everyone had someone to take care of…and Sho did Sho.
But not Fukuda since Sho didn't need anyone to take care of him anymore.
"Sho, hey! I didn't hear you come in." said Fukuda as he walked down the stairs and into the living room. He did the thing where he dried his head as he walked. Sho didn't get it. He never let his hair get long enough that it even needed drying. Fukuda was lucky he didn't live with Big Sis, she hated it when she had to look around for towels and laundry and stuff. Mom had hated it too. Girls in general hated it. Maye that was why Fukuda had never had a girlfriend before….
And why he was never going to get one now.
"Because you were showering like a weirdo." Said Sho. Who showered unless someone else made you? Showers were even worse than baths. At least in the bath if you stayed perfectly still it didn't feel like you were drowning.
"Did you come over to argue with me about the superiority of baths?" asked Fukuda with a laugh.
"No, baths suck too." Said Sho sticking out his tongue. He wished that there was some way to be clean without getting wet at all. There wasn't so he was the way he was. It wasn't so bad, he didn't think so anyway. He couldn't even smell himself. He didn't smell bad until he could smell himself, but a lot, and then he would take a bath. But only then.
"Well you need one. What, is your sister monopolizing your bathroom again?" asked Fukuda
"Yeah, maybe, she said that she needed one but then she went to hang out with Serizawa and…and anyway that's not why I'm here." Said Sho
"What brings you here, then? Did you feel like having a sleepover? Did something happen on your trip? How was Mario Land?" asked Fukuda sitting down on the couch. He did that thing where he left enough room for Sho. He should have just come out and asked Sho if he wanted to sit next to him…and anyway he was happy on the floor. He wouldn't be staying long. The more he stayed the more Fukuda tried to baby him.
"Really fun, actually. We collected coins and Mukai got the most because she had two bracelets and, well, it would have been more fun if Tsuchiya and Minegishi were better at walking. Even Serizawa is better at walking and he lives in his room." Said Sho
"Right…he went with you too…" said Fukuda. Sho knew that look. He took a deep breath. No way was Fukuda starting with Serizawa. He was nice…kind of boring and babyish but nice. He would have been good to have on their side for the uprising. No wonder people didn't want to join them, Fukuda was an asshole's dickhole's dickhole to everyone.
"Don't be a dickhole to Serizawa, he's actually pretty nice." Said Sho. Fukuda had turned into a grumpy old man at some point. Why were all old people dickholes? Dad, Fukuda, Shiori was ok but she could be kind of a dickhole too a little bit, and…well he didn't know any other old people but he knew how mean they could be.
"I wasn't being anything. I have no opinion of Serizawa. Hatori on the other hand…you wouldn't believe what he did." Said Fukuda, shaking his head. Sho wondered if it was worse than what Serizawa and Big Sis…and everyone on the internal message boards…had said. Sho didn't know why Hatori drank, he wasn't good at it.
"He threw a crazy party, drank too much, and then fell asleep on Dad's desk. Serizawa told us. Didn't sound like much of a party to me. There wasn't even a haunted house or anything. There had better be a haunted house for the Halloween party." Said Sho
"Oh….your dad said that your sister could have another one of her parties…" said Fukuda. He actually looked pissed off at that…well he had never liked parties, for some reason. If Sho had been feeling like being more of an asshole he would have told Fukuda that this was why he didn't have any friends besides Dad. He was even more boring than Minegishi, and that was saying something.
"He didn't say anything but she's the one in charge so I guess she doesn't have to ask anymore." Said Sho
"She isn't in charge, Sho, she just thinks she is and you don't have to go to her party if you don't want to. How about on Halloween we have a scary movie marathon. We could watch the Nightmare Before Christmas and that thing about the trick or treating hamsters-" said Fukuda
"None of those movies are scary. If we have a scary movie marathon we're watching all the Saw movies in order, and then maybe Train to Busan if Mukai's still into it, but not on the same day as Big Sis's party. I want to go. You can hang out with the cat and the hamsters and the fish and stuff that day." Said Sho
"We can…we can do that….and you don't have to go. I mean if your Dad even lets her throw this party. Last I heard he was really…unhappy…with her." Said Fukuda. Sho shook his head. Dad could feel however the fuck he wanted to feel. That didn't change the fact that Big Sis was in charge…they could have parties again. Good ones, of course, not the boring work kind. They could have a Halloween party where the whole thing was a haunted house and everyone had chainsaws….but not Mukai because she was little…and they could have a Christmas party but without weird closet games…that hadn't been fun…and they could…they could…
They needed to make the most of this while they could.
"Yeah, because she did it with Shimazaki but that doesn't matter. He left her in charge of Tokyo forever so it's not like we have to deal with him again." Said Sho. Fukuda turned a weird color there. First he had been white, as white as his t-shirt, and then he'd turned red…and then purple…..and then back to white again before he settled on the same kind of red as, well he was more orange actually, like clownfish were….
Sho wondered if Fukuda was going to have a heart attack too…
"Sho…what did you just say?" asked Fukuda, his voice coming out like someone was force choking him. Sho felt around. Dad wasn't anywhere in his passive range…and it wasn't like Dad would have choked Fukuda anyway. He'd been more into kicking people lately.
"That Big Sis is in charge of Tokyo…you're not going to have a heart attack, are you?" asked Sho
"I..I hope not. So he's staying in Osaka for a while, then? Did he…did he say when he was coming back? Or if he was going to send for anyone? Or what his plans were? Or-" said Fukuda
"I don't know, he doesn't tell me anything. Anyway shouldn't you know this stuff? You're his best friend or whatever." Said Sho
"We're….going through a rough patch right now. Sometimes when you've known someone for a while you go through rough patches, times where you can't stand each other, but that's ok. You'll always come back to the person you're….having the rough patch with." Said Fukuda. Sho raised an eyebrow. That was kind of like him and Big Sis…only Big Sis was nice and he wanted to spend time with her. Dad was an asshole. Why did Fukuda care so much that Dad was gone? He should have been throwing a party or something with all of his friends…his two other friends that weren't Sho, instead of sitting there and freaking out.
"Why do you even care if Dad's pissed at you? He's an asshole." Said Sho
"Reasons…ones which you'll know about when you're older." Said Fukuda
"I'm not a baby, you don't have to treat me like one." Said Sho
"Trust me, Sho, you do not want details. Really. Just…your Dad and I aren't doing so well right now, that's all. Maybe when he gets back to Osaka things'll be back to normal." Said Fukuda
"So we can figure his plan out and then stop him?" asked Sho. That was the only reason that he could think of that anyone would have wanted Dad around. He said that he was getting to the end, so his plan was getting finalized, which then left Sho opened to plan his own plan for how to destroy Dad's plans! And then when it was over…Sho could plan for what he'd do once it was over when he was done planning for how to take Dad down.
"Yes…that's it. So we can figure his plan out. So, yeah, when he comes back-" said Fukuda
"He's not coming back, though. He's taking Hatori with him and then he's going to find another asset. Big Sis said so." Said Sho
"…come again?" asked Fukuda
"What's so complicated? Dad's taking Hatori to some other place and we get to hang out here and have parties and pets and just…we're free! I think that we should make the best of this while we still can. I mean before we take Claw down." Said Sho. He could say it, now, because Dad was gone and he was never coming back…Sho had never felt so light in his life. He could do whatever he wanted. He could say whatever he wanted. He could…he could be free. Freer than he'd ever been in his life…
He'd enjoy it for a little bit before he got back to work.
He'd help Fukuda enjoy it, too. He was freaking out. Sho didn't get it. What could have been so scary about Dad being gone? What, did he want to go with? No, no, that couldn't have been it. Fukuda may have liked Dad but he hated Hatori…and he loved Sho. He always wanted to be where Sho was and right now this was where Sho wanted to be. Fukuda may have been annoying, and he may have babied him, but he still loved Sho and…and that was just how he showed love…
Sho didn't need to be babied anymore but he did…well it never hurt to have someone who cared about him.
"That's…that's….did he say that? He said that he was leaving me behind? Those exact words?" asked Fukuda. Sho shrugged.
"That's what Big Sis says that he said, anyway, so ask her…actually don't. She doesn't like you that much and she's been in kind of a bad mood lately. I don't know why, it's not like Dad beat her up or anything…but whatever." Said Sho
"I'm not going to ask, I'm going to…did he say anything else? Did he say where he was going now?" asked Fukuda, looking around…like he was going to get up and run to Dad or…or something.
"I don't know. I guess he's staying with his…girlfriend….gross. That's so gross but…but I guess that she's ok. She's not gross but Dad liking her is and…and it's still weird for me. She's ok though, I don't think that she's a bitch. Big Sis says that she is-" said Sho
"Wait, what did you just say?" asked Fukuda. Sho…ok, maybe he had lied a little bit…but he knew what she'd meant. He knew his own sister.
"Ok, she didn't say 'bitch', she said 'witch' but I know that she meant bitch. She's just too scared to curse even though she's allowed to now. She can do whatever she wants now and-" said Sho
"Slow down, Sho, slow down. Are you telling me that you met…that you actually met this woman?" asked Fukuda. Sho nodded. Fukuda was still freaking out. Sho pushed the fishbowl over to him. He didn't have a glass of water but it didn't seem like fish water would have killed Fukuda. He didn't know if a heart attack would have killed him either….but he didn't want to…he didn't want to see Fukuda laying down on the ground with his head bleeding and…and being all weird and…and him being weird colors and stuff….
"Yeah….but don't have a heart attack or anything." Said Sho
"I'm not going to…I'm fine, I'm perfectly fine. You…are you ok? What did she do to you? What did she say? Was she…what was she like? What did she look like? What…just tell me what happened." Said Fukuda. He was being all…serious, now? Fukuda was so weird sometimes. Big Sis hadn't even freaked out this much when he told her and Big Sis had actually gotten into a fight with her. Fukuda was just being weird…Fukuda was just babying him again…
Even if had fought with Shiori then…well Sho could handle himself.
"I'm fine. She mostly just talked about fish….but she was…she was ok. She…she's ok. She gets Dad, I mean she gets how he can be, she actually thinks that he hates me-" said Sho
"He doesn't hate you. He just…he doesn't understand you, that's all." Said Fukuda softly. Sho didn't yell. He wanted to but…but he couldn't. The fish were swimming around and some of his hamsters had come back from the tubes and out of their hay…he couldn't freak them out. They loved him and he loved them and when you loved someone then…then you did whatever you had to do to make them happy.
"You don't get it…but you never got it. You never got anything and…and…and you don't know anything about taking care of fish, either! I mean, seriously, this bowl is way too small and the rocks are wrong and there's no filter either!" said Sho. Ok, maybe now he was yelling…but…but it was only a little. He was tired and Fukuda was wrong. He was so wrong and…and he had always been wrong. Sho…he was done trying to convince Fukuda that Dad hated him…
But he could convince him that he was wrong about the fish.
So he just kept on going about the fish. They mattered more than Sho did, in some ways, because they were little and helpless. Their world was even smaller than his was. They were small and fragile and…and they were like babies. Sho had to think of them, they couldn't take care of themselves, not like Sho. He could take care of himself. He was old enough to…to not be bothered by this. He had more important things to worry about.
Like the fish. They didn't have enough room to swim. It was…it was important that they had enough room to swim….and Sho could do that for them.