The Tin Can Challenge
(Based on Angry Grandpa's Tin Can Challenge)
One day in the Sakamoto Residence, 12 year old Himari invited her friend Hotaru and his parents, Hayato and Hifumi, over for a little 'internet challenge' that she and Hotaru wanted to try. The two 12 year olds have heard about something circulating on social media called, 'The Tin Can Challenge'. The Tin Can Challenge involves a group of people and numbered cans without labels. The people participating in the challenge must then draw a card, and whatever number they draw is the number can that they must eat from.
Hotaru and Himari don't know how they did it, but they somehow got their parents, Hayato, Hifumi, Ryuji, and Makoto, to agree to doing this challenge.
The four adults are seen sitting around the dining room table of the Sakamoto Residence with an assortment of numbered, labelless cans in front of them. Himari and Hotaru meanwhile, are recording the whole event, wishing to post it on their respective social media pages.
"Alright, guys, are you ready to take The Tin Can Challenge?" Hotaru asked with enthusiasm.
"Does it look like we're ready, Hotaru?" Makoto said, unamused.
"My folks don't look too excited either," Hotaru said looking over at Hayato and Hifumi's annoyed and unamused faces.
"Oh my God, I'm so excited," Himari said.
"Easy for you to say, you're not the one who's about to eat from cans of who-knows-what," Hayato said.
"Hey, it could be worse," Ryuji said, only for a knock on the door to occur, as if on cue, "Who could that be?"
"Oh, we forgot to mention, dad" Himari said, "Hotaru and I invited a special guest. Why don't you come with us so you can see who it is?"
Ryuji got up from his chair and walked over to the front door, his daughter and her friend still recording him the whole time. He opens the door to reveal Makoto's sister Sae.
"Sae?" Ryuji asked, "What are you doing here?"
"Your daughter and her friend invited me over," Sae answered.
"Well, did they tell you for what?" Ryuji asked.
"Nope," Sae answered.
"Follow us, Auntie Sae, and we'll show you," Himari said as she and Hotaru led Ryuji and Sae back to the dining room. What Sae sees when she makes it to the dining room is her sister, Hayato, and Hifumi sitting at the table looking at numbered cans without labels.
"What is all this?" Sae asked.
"It's The Tin Can Challenge," Hotaru explained, "What you have to do is draw a number from that stack of cards, and whatever number you draw, you have to eat whatever is in that numbered can."
"That's messed up," Sae said, "Who's to say there's not something disgusting in one of these cans?"
"That's part of the fun," Himari said, "Oh also, Hotaru's parents are a team and my parents are a team. Meaning you are your own team, and my parents have to eat from the same can and Hotaru's parents have to eat from the same can."
"So basically if I draw a card that says #3, both Hayato and I have to eat from the #3 can?" Hifumi asked.
"Exactly," Himari said as she and Hotaru continued recording, "So, let's get started!"
"We're up first, love, you ready?" Hayato said as Hifumi looks over at the two adolescents.
"If you two make money off of whatever video you're filming, you'd better give us some," Hifumi said.
"Of course," Hotaru said as Hayato drew a card from the pile.
"#4," Hayato read as Hifumi grabbed the corresponding can. Hotaru hands his parents a can opener and Hayato opens the can up, revealing the contents to be canned salmon. The sight and smell was so bad it caused Hayato to gag.
"What the hell is that," Hayato gagged.
"If you throw up on me I'm going to shove that entire can down your throat," Sae threatened.
Hifumi gave the contents a closer look, "It's just salmon," she said, "You've had salmon before, babe."
"But not canned salmon," Hayato said, resisting the urge to vomit, "It looks and smells horrible."
"Well eat up," Himari said as the two Yajimas.
Hayato and Hifumi picked up their forks and dug into the canned salmon. Once a piece of the salmon got on the fork, the couple looked and nodded at each other as they opened their mouths to eat it. Hifumi held her nose as she ate her bite of canned salmon, but Hayato just shoved it into his mouth before he threw up. And while Hifumi looked nauseous while eating it, she managed to swallow it with little to no problem. Hayato on the other hand…
"BLARGH!"
Hayato vomited his piece of canned salmon onto the table before he even swallowed it. This sends Hotaru, Himari, and Ryuji into a laughing fit while Sae and Makoto look away in disgust, and Hifumi rubs her husband's back.
"Oh my God!" Himari chuckled.
"Oh come on now," Makoto winced.
"Dad, are you alright," Hotaru asked, his laughter laced with at least a little bit of concern for his father's well-being.
"Yeah, I'm good," Hayato said as he stopped vomiting, "But I did it, I took my bite."
"Took a bite?" Sae asked incredulously.
"Yeah, we know it's a waste of food, but Hotaru and I agreed that you guys don't have to eat the whole can if you don't want to," Himari said.
"I definitely don't want to," Hayato said, using a nearby rag to clean up his vomit from the table.
"So at least you guys' kids have some idea of the meaning of the word 'mercy'," Sae said to the other four adults.
After cleaning up Hayato's vomit, Himari and Hotaru leave the dining room and return with five plastic bags that they give to the five adults.
"Smart thinking, kids," Makoto said.
"Yeah, Himari and I really should've thought about this before we got started," Hotaru admitted.
"What matters is that you thought about it," Ryuji said.
"Yeah, I don't want to clean this table again," Hayato said, "I'm sure you all probably figured it out by now, but I have a weak stomach."
"Oh, really, I couldn't tell," Sae said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Alright Auntie Sae, you're next." Himari said as her aunt drew a card; #12.
"It's this little pull-tab can right here," Hifumi said as she handed Sae the small can. The older Niijima sister opened the can up to reveal vienna sausages.
"Oh, not these disgusting things," Sae whined.
"Remember, you don't have to eat them all," Himari reminded her aunt, "Just one or two."
"Alright," Sae said as she grabbed her fork and picked one of the vienna sausages up with it. She only took one nibble from it before spitting it back out, causing Makoto to chuckle, "I can't do it, it's too disgusting."
"They're not that bad, let me have one," Hayato said as Sae handed him the can, allowing the scarlet haired man to take a vienna sausage and eat it whole.
"You actually like that stuff, babe?" Hifumi asked.
"It's an acquired taste, I'll have to admit, but yes," Hayato answered.
"Alright, mom and dad, you two are next," Himari said as Ryuji drew a card that had the #3 on it. Makoto took the can, grabbed a nearby can opener and opened the can with it…or at least tried to. The Sakamoto family can opener was kind of old. After fidgeting around with it for a few minutes, Makoto finally opened the can to reveal a canful of mandarin oranges inside.
"Yay, oranges!" Makoto said as she and Ryuji grabbed their forks and started feasting on them.
"What?!" Sae exclaimed, "We get canned salmon and Vienna sausage and they get oranges?! What a load of bull!"
Makoto, Ryuji, Himari, Hayato, Hifumi, and Hotaru laugh to themselves as Sae goes on her rant. After Makoto and Ryuji finished their oranges, it was Hayato and Hifumi's turn again. Hifumi drew a card that had the #9 on it, and Hayato grabbed the corresponding can and the can opener, only for the can opener to give him a hard time like it did with Makoto. Instead of continuing trying to use it, Hayato just pulled a pocket knife out from his pants pocket and used that to open the can.
"Look at Alligator McGee with his knife (Crocodile Dundee)," Sae teased.
"Hey, my knife is getting the job done, isn't it?" Hayato said as he finished opening the lid of the can, allowing him to put his knife away.
Hayato and Hifumi examined the content of this can; it was a white liquidy substance.
"What the heck is this?" Hayato asked only for Hifumi to whisper in his ear.
"Kind of looks like something I drew out of you this morning," Hifumi quietly whispered into her husband's ear, causing him to blush.
"Babe, keep that kind of stuff on the hush-hush," Hayato quietly whispered back, "Especially since Hotaru is here."
"You guys say something?" Hotaru asked, having heard his name in their conversation.
"Nothing," Hayato said, "So anyway, what is this that we're looking at?"
"It's coconut milk, Uncle Hayato," Himari said, "Wait here and I'll get you two some straws."
Himari left the dining room and returned a few seconds later with two 'crazy straws' that she stuck in the can; a blue one for Hayato and a pink one for Hifumi. With their straws sitting in the coconut milk, the two Yajimas put their lips to their respective straw and drank their coconut milk until half the can was gone.
"So sweet," Hifumi said.
"Tastes like candy," Hayato said with a smile, "Much better than that fish you guys tried to make me eat."
"I'd better get something good now if you four did," Sae said as she drew another card, this one having the #10 on it. This can was unlike the rest of them, however, as it came in a rectangular shape with a pull tab.
"I've never had anything that came in a rectangular can before," Hifumi said.
"Oh, I think I know what it is," Makoto said, "We'd have it for breakfast almost every morning when we were younger, remember Sae?"
"Oh, dear God, no," Sae winced as she realized what Makoto was talking about. The older Niijima sister pulled the pull tab to open the can, revealing a canful of spam, "Aw, man, I at this enough as a child! I'm not eating this fake ham!"
"Do it for the camera, Auntie Sae," Himari teased as she and Hotaru continued recording the contest.
"What even is the point of this?" Sae asked, "Are you going to give us money or something?"
"If the video gets enough views, yes," Hotaru answered.
"Fine," Sae said in an annoyed tone before scooping up a piece of spam with her fork.
"Man, that looks disgusting," Hifumi said.
"We'd always eat the spam cooked," Makoto said, "So I wonder what'll happen when she eats it uncooked?"
Sae gave a quick glare to her sister before putting the piece of spam in her mouth. She tried chewing it for a few seconds before spitting and gagging it out of her mouth and into her plastic bag, causing the other six with her to start laughing.
"My luck has to change soon, I swear," Sae lamented as it was Makoto and Ryuji's turn again.
"Okay, mom and dad, let's see what you guys have to eat this time," Himari said as Ryuji drew a card, this one having the #1 on it.
"#1, my favorite number," Ryuji said as Makoto grabbed the #1 can, which also had a pull tab.
The brunette woman pulled the tab to reveal a canful of cherries.
"Alright, cherries!" Ryuji said as she and Makoto started feasting on the cherries.
"How do you two jerks keep getting freaking fruit?!" Sae asked angrily as Hotaru, Himari, Hifumi, and Hayato laughed at her outburst.
"How is this possible," Hotaru laughed, "Two times in a row, man!"
"Makoto and Ryuji are mingling with Lady Luck today, guys, I don't know what to tell you," Hayato said with the shrug of his shoulders.
"Our luck's beginning to turn, babe," Ryuji said to his wife with a mouthful of cherries.
"Maybe after this we should play the lottery," Makoto said as she swallowed a mouthful of cherries.
"Here, let me shake you guys' hands," Hotaru said as he shook Makoto and Ryuji's hands, "I need some of that luck in my life. May this video go viral come tomorrow morning, amen."
After Ryuji and Makoto finished their cherries, Hayato drew a card for him and Hifumi. This time the number the card had was #13. The #13 can was one without a pull tab, meaning it was time for Hayato's trusty knife again. The scarlet haired man opened up the can, revealing the contents to be green beans.
"Aw, green beans," Hifumi whined in disappointment.
"You don't like green beans, Auntie Hifumi?" Himari asked.
"Never did," Hifumi said before taking a deep breath and picking up her fork, "Well, here goes nothing."
Hayato and Hifumi grabbed some green beans with their forks. And while Hayato ate his with virtually no problem at all, Hifumi had to close her eyes and plug up her nose before eating her forkful. At first it looked like she was going to eat her bite, but just as it was traveling down her throat, Hifumi barfed the green beans back up into her plastic bag, causing Hayato to rub her back in an attempt to comfort her.
"It's okay, Hifumi," Hayato said in a comforting tone, "You did your best."
"Aw, what's wrong, can't the little girl stomach her green beans?" Ryuji teased, only to get punched in the face by Hifumi, "Okay, I deserved that," Ryuji said, rubbing his nose.
Himari left the dining room again and returned with an ice pack for her father's nose.
"Thanks, Himari," Ryuji said.
"Okay, Mrs. Niijima," Hotaru said, "Your turn."
"Oh joy," Sae said with obvious sarcasm. When she drew her card, this one had the #7 on it.
Like some of the other ones, this one didn't have a pull tab, so Hayato handed Sae his knife which she used to open it. Once it was open, there was some residue of whatever food was in the can on the knife. Hayato took a whiff of whatever was on the knife and recoiled in disgust.
"What is that?" Hayato said, covering his nose.
"You'll see," Hotaru said.
Sae slowly and carefully opened the can to reveal…the edible lining known as tripe.
"What the hell is this stuff?!" Sae moaned.
"That's tripe," Hotaru said, "You all do know what tripe is, right? It's the lining of a cow's stomach."
"Oh my God!" Makoto said, covering her mouth in disgust.
"For real?!" Ryuji exclaimed in an aghast tone.
"Where did you kids find tripe?!" Hifumi asked.
"We know a guy," Himari said.
"We're going to need a little more context, Himari," Hayato said, "Who is this guy and why would he sell you this?"
"Look, let's just say he's a guy we know," Hotaru said.
Cut to Cafe Leblanc where Sojiro is counting a wad of money, as he does he thinks to himself, "I wonder what Hotaru and Himari wanted with all of my canned food?"
Back at the Sakamoto Residence, Sae is taking her fork and cutting a piece of the tripe for her to taste.
"Even I have to apologize for this, Auntie Sae," Himari said, "No one deserves to eat something like this."
"Tripe isn't all that bad, you know," Hotaru said, "I tried some the other day and I thought it tasted like chicken and salted marshmallows."
"What even are your taste buds, Hotaru?" Himari said in disgust to her friend, "Do you even have taste buds?"
"Ain't nothing but something to eat," Hotaru said.
"You are a human garbage disposal," Himari teased.
"I've been called worse," Hotaru responded, making Himari chuckle and shake her head.
The two 12 year olds focus their attention back on Sae, who finally got a piece of tripe on her fork. She slowly lifted the fork up to her mouth, and all it took was the tripe to make the smallest amount of contact with her tongue before she gagged and had to vomit into her plastic bag, causing everyone to bust out laughing again.
"What's it taste like?" Himari chuckled.
"Like crap," Sae said, looking up from her barf bag before vomiting again. After she finished vomiting, Himari and Hotaru turned their attention back on Ryuji and Makoto.
"Let's see if the odds are still in your favor," Hotaru said as Makoto drew a card, this one having the #11 on it. Ryuji grabbed it as Sae glared at him.
"If you two get another fruit, I'm convinced that this game is rigged against me and I'm walking out of here," Sae said.
"Don't hate us 'cause you ain't us," Ryuji boasted as he used Hayato's knife to open the can to reveal corned beef hash, "Yeah! Bring on the meat, baby!"
"What is it?" Makoto asked her husband.
"Corned beef hash time!" Ryuji exclaimed, much to Makoto's delight, and the couple started feasting on their meaty meal.
"Thank you, Lady Luck," Makoto smiled.
"Oh hell no!" Sae said as she prepared to get up from her chair, only to be stopped by Hayato and Hifumi.
"Hey, you said you'd leave if they got another fruit," Hayato said, "Not if they got meat."
"Well they're still getting off easy," Sae pouted, "This is all a load of crap!"
"Hey, we're playing the game," Makoto said, a mouth full of corned beef hash.
"You aren't playing jack," Sae said, "You guys are just getting lucky that's all."
"Anyway, ball's back in your court, mom and dad," Hotaru said to his parents, "Pick a card, any card."
Hifumi drew this next card, and the number she drew was #6. This can, like some of the others, had a pull tab. But unlike the other cans, this one had a blue color to it, and both Hotaru and Himari smiled with glee when they realized what can they grabbed.
"Just a heads up, we know what can that is," Himari said.
"In that case, do you know if the contents are good or bad?" Hifumi asked.
"Open it up and find out," Himari said.
"Oh, boy, this is gonna be the best," Hotaru said.
Hifumi opened the can to reveal something wrapped in paper. She removed the paper to show that it was concealing two burgers.
"What is this?" Hayato asked.
"Cheeseburger in a can," Himari answered.
"They actually make this stuff?" Makoto asked, "Who the hell is clamoring for a cheeseburger in a can? They'll put almost anything in a can, I swear."
Hifumi gave one burger to her husband and one to herself. They took one bite from their respective burgers and within seconds both of them were vomiting into their bags.
"That tastes worse than green beans," Hifumi cried.
"For real?" Ryuji asked as he grabbed one of the burgers from them, "They can't taste that bad."
"You have more guts than I do, Uncle Ryuji," Hotaru said.
Ryuji looked at the burger before taking a big chomp out of the part that didn't already have a bite in it. He let the burger sit in his mouth for a few seconds before chewing, and then…
"Augh!" gagged Ryuji.
In a flash, Ryuij grabbed his bag and spit the chewed up burger back into it, causing everyone to laugh at his misfortune.
"How does it taste?" Makoto asked her husband between chuckles.
"It tastes like Morgana's paw pads!" Ryuji cried.
"And how do you know what the Amamiya family cat's paws taste like?" Himari said, laughing even more.
"Your mother dared me to lick his paws one time while we were dating," Ryuji explained before spitting into his bag once more, "Freaking disgusting!"
"Not as disgusting as whatever I'm sure is awaiting Auntie Sae," Himari said as Sae drew a card that had the #8 on it.
"Can't wait to see what fresh hell awaits me this time," Sae sad as she grabbed a small can with a pull tab. She opens the can to find pork & beans inside, "Well what do you know, actual food this time."
"Beans, beans, they're good for your heart," Ryuji sang, "The more you eat, the more you…"
"Shut it!" Sae said as she ate a few bites of her pork & beans, happy that she was shown mercy in this round. When she had enough, she looked over at her sister and her husband, "Now maybe you two will actually get something crappy for once."
"Only one way to find out," Ryuji said, "But I'm calling it right now, it can't be as bad as that cheeseburger in a can. Blech! Still have that taste in my mouth!"
"Maybe whatever food we have to eat next will get rid of it," Makoto said as she drew the #14 card. The corresponding can was the biggest can there, and it had a pull tab on it.
"Whatever's inside that can there must be a lot of it," Hayato said, "Hope you two are hungry."
Makoto pulled open the tab, and immediately a sweet aroma that one would expect to find in a bakery wafted through the room, causing all seven present to let out a blissful sigh.
"I hope whatever's in there tastes as good as it smells," Ryuji said as his wife finished opening the can to reveal chocolate cake-in-a-can.
"Cake in a can," Hotaru said.
"I repeat, they'll put anything in a can nowadays," Makoto said.
"This cake doesn't actually look to bad," Ryuji said as he took a whiff of the cake inside the can, "It smells fresh."
"As usual, you two get all the good stuff," Sae pouted.
"You know what, babe, I feel bad for these three," Ryuji said to his wife as he pointed at Sae, Hayato, and Hifumi, "Can we share some of this cake with them?"
"I don't see why not," Makoto said with the shrug of her shoulders before turning to her daughter and her friend, "You kids are welcome to some of it too."
"Awesome!" Hotaru exclaimed as he went into the kitchen to grab a fork for himself and Himari.
The group of seven passed the can around, each member taking a bite from the cake as it got passed around. None of them were sick, so they didn't mind eating from the same can. When it was all gone, the group noticed that there were only two cans left, #2 and #5. Hayato drew a card for himself and his wife, and he ended up drawing the #5 card.
"Penultimate can time, guys, you ready?" Hotaru asked his parents.
"How bad can it be?" Hifumi asked, basically tempting fate.
Using his knife once more, Hayato opened up the can. The scarlet haired man lifted up the lid to peek at what's inside, and he let out a low whine.
"Tell me that whine means something good is in there," Hifumi said with a frown.
"It's exactly what I feared would happen when we agreed to do this," Hayato said.
Hifumi gasped and said, "Oh no! You don't mean…"
"Yes," Hayato said sadly as he opened the can all the way to show his wife the contents, "We have to eat dog food!"
This revelation caused everyone but Hayato and Hifumi to laugh like never before. Ryuji went so far as to bark like a dog at the disgusted couple.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't this stuff made of horse meat?" Hifumi asked.
"I pray that's just a myth," Hayato said after a brief moment of silence.
"If you guys don't want to eat it, you can get out of it," Himari explained, "But you have to eat the tripe instead…all of it. So, pick your poison, either tripe or dog food."
"I think we'll take our chances with the dog food," Hifumi said as she and Hayato grabbed their forks.
"You two don't know what you're missing by passing up the chance to try tripe," Hotaru said.
"Seriously, what even are your taste buds?" Himari asked her friend.
Hayato and Hifumi scooped up some dog food with their forks and put it in their mouths. As expected, the two of them grabbed their bags and threw up in them. As they finished vomiting, Sai grabbed can #2. Upon doing that, both Hotaru and Himari grinned wickedly at the five adults.
"Kids, why are you looking at us like that?" Makoto asked.
"This last can is the best one of all," Hotaru said.
"Meaning it's the worst one for us," Ryuji bemoaned.
"And I'm stuck eating whatever's inside of it," Sae said before letting out a sigh, "Alright, let's do this."
Using Hayato's knife, Sae opened the can, but upon sticking the knife inside the can, the liquid within it squirted out and landed on Ryuji's shirt. Not only that, but a foul odor pervaded the air, causing the whole group of seven to start gagging and coughing.
"Aw, man, it's all over me," Ryuji cried as he took off his shirt.
"Oh, god that's vile," Hayato moaned as Hifumi coughed, "What is that?"
"That's surströming," Hotaru said, holding his breath.
As everyone around her started coughing, Sae opened the can all the way to reveal a fish's head, causing her to scream and recoil in disgust as more of the foul odor from within the can filled the air.
"AAAUGGGHH! WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!" Sae said before a bout of coughing ensued.
As the scent from the can of surströming emanate continued to spread, Sae was still coughing, Hifumi passed out, Hayato is vomiting into a nearby plant, and both Makoto and Ryuji ran into the next room to try and escape the smell. Meanwhile, Hotaru and Himari are holding their noses as the continued to record the chaos.
"This is insane," Himari said.
"Honey, you've got to burn this shirt," Ryuji said, referring to when the surströming juice landed on his shirt moments ago.
"Oh, God, I've got to get outside," Hayato said as he stopped vomiting to pick up Hifumi, haul her over his shoulders, and run them both outside of the house.
"You know what, you two did this on purpose," Sae cried as she pointed a finger at the two 12 year olds before pointing at the smelly can of fish, "Seriously, what is that stuff?"
"I told you, it's surströming," Hotaru said.
"What is that?!" Sae yelled, "Who the hell eats that stuff?!"
"The Swedish," Himari said bluntly.
"It can't smell that bad can it?" Hotaru asked.
"Unplug your noses and find out," Makoto yelled from the kitchen.
Hotaru and Himari moved their hands from their noses to take in the scent of the surströming, and within milliseconds they were coughing and gagging as they made a beeline for the front door, fighting the urge to vomit all the while. With Sae, Ryuji, and Makoto being the only ones left inside the house, the latter two decided to take action to get the can of smelly fish out of the house once and for all.
Makoto grabbed another small plastic bag from the kitchen and gave it to Ryuji who went back into the dining room with it. He put the can of surströming in the bag before tying a knot and closing it tight. While he did that, Makoto entered carrying a can of air freshener that she used to get rid of the awful odor of the surströming. As she sprayed the air freshener, however, Sae ended up vomiting on the floor, much to Ryuji and Makoto's disgust.
"Oh God!" Ryuji yelled.
"Sorry, guys," Sae said, "That scent is so strong."
"Let's get out of here!" Makoto said.
"I'm with you babe," Ryuji said, "This place is like a warzone."
Ryuji, Sae, and Makoto left the house, with Ryuji carrying the bag containing the surströming. Upon leaving the house, the blonde man walked over to the curb and placed the bag in one of the trash cans before rejoining his wife, daughter, sister-in-law, and the Yajimas on the porch.
"That was by far the worst thing I've ever smelled," Hotaru said as he and Himari picked up their cameras, "But at least we got good footage."
"If this video doesn't go viral, I don't know what will. Thanks, everyone!" Himari said as the two twelve year old looked over at the five adults who were glowering down at them.
"So…in how much trouble are the two of us in?" Hotaru asked nervously as Himari had a similarly nervous look on her face.
All the five of them could say was: "Never ask us for anything ever again!"