Mission 10: A Friend for Shuu
Amuro and Haibara were at Agasa's house, enjoying a peaceful Saturday morning.
The blonde man walked over to the Shuu's bowl, admiring the reddish-colored goldfish.
"Hm?" His eyes widened nervously.
"What is it?"
"…Shuu…" Amuro hesitated. "I think…he's dead…"
"What?!" Haibara rushed over to check on him. "What did you do!?"
"I didn't do anything, honest!" He held up his hands.
Suddenly, the fish flapped his fins, swimming as normal.
"Oh, he was just playing dead…" Amuro sighed. "His name really does suit him…"
Haibara continued to stare at the fish, deep in thought.
"He's okay, Haibara-chan!" He pat her shoulder. "It was a false alarm."
"I know, it's just…I wonder if he's lonely?" Haibara frowned.
"Do fish even get lonely?" Amuro raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe we should get him some companions, I heard it's good for a fish to have tank mates."
"If you do that, you'll need to get something bigger for them to fit." He shrugged. "It sounds like a pain, don't worry about it."
Haibara shot him a harsh glare. "We're going to the pet store. Right now."
"Ah, yes ma'am…"
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"These breeds are recommended companions with goldfish." The pet store employee said as they directed Haibara and Amuro to a section in the back of the store.
The walls were covered with many tanks, filled with a variety of fish and other aquatic animals.
"Of course, you can always get more goldfish as well. When you've decided, just let me know." The worker smiled, walking away.
Amuro kneeled down, looking at the goldfish together with Haibara. "Do you know what you want?"
"Hmm…" Haibara paused for a moment. "I'll pick one, and you pick one."
"Eh? I'm picking one too?"
"Why not?" Haibara shrugged. "I think it would be nice to have three fish."
"Sure, I guess…" Amuro began looking around.
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There were many types of goldfish, some a reddish color similar to Shuu, some brown, some orange.
Amuro peeked over at another tank, with a collection of bright yellow goldfish.
'I 've never seen one with such a lively color.' He thought as he stared at the fish. "Mm, this one will do."
A worker grabbed the yellow fish for Amuro.
"Could you please show me the tanks as well? I'll need one to fit three goldfish."
"Of course! Right this way."
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Amuro picked out a standard tank recommended by the employee, who gave him tips on proper maintenance and care.
He looked around the store, looking for his young companion.
"That's a nice one." Haibara called out from behind. She held up a plastic bag with a fish inside. It was a white goldfish with a slight pink hue. "I picked mine as well."
"Oh, that's a nice one too!" He smiled. "I'm sure Shuu will be very happy."
"Speaking of which, what should we name them?" Haibara asked. "You named Shuu, do you have any ideas for these two?"
"Hmm…" Amuro put his hand up to his chin. "This yellow one reminds me of ginkgo leaves, so maybe we should name it Fusae? We can name the white one Higo, because you're such a fangirl." He snickered.
"You could put some more thought into it than that." She grumbled.
"The yellow one is Zero, the white one is Hime." A familiar voice stepped in between.
"Subaru-san!" Haibara exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"
"I was doing some shopping in the store next door and noticed you two." He smiled. "I thought I'd come say hello."
"Just now, you mentioned the name Zero…" Amuro narrowed his eyes. "I can only think of one man who would pick a name like that in this case."
"Is that so?" Subaru hummed. "It just came to me, much like the name Shuu did to you, I suppose."
Amuro sighed. "You're just playing with me at this point, aren't you…"
"Play?" Subaru smirked. "Well, you are quite fun to be around."
"I don't get you two at all…" Haibara shook her head.
"Anyways, we found our fish and a tank, so let's head out." Amuro said.
"Why don't you pick out some decorations while you're here? My treat." Subaru offered.
"Why would you do something like that?" Amuro huffed.
"As a thank you." He smiled at Haibara. "For taking such good care of Shuu."
"It would be nice to make their tank more homey…" Haibara pondered. "Don't back out when you see the total price."
"Grab anything you like!" Subaru picked up a fake castle decoration. "This one would suit you well."
Haibara glared at him.
"For Hime, I mean. You're deserving of far more, princess."
Amuro snatched the castle out of Subaru's hand. "You seem to spend quite frivolously for a supposed student."
"Well, the Kudos are kind enough to let me live rent free, so I have some extra funds at the moment."
"Is that so…"
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Subaru continued looking at other decorations and tank accessories, walking up ahead of them.
"Psst!" Amuro whispered to her. "I don't know about this, Haibara-chan."
"Oh, quit worrying. Besides, we can use it as a chance to catch him slip up, right?"
"I thought we weren't going to use pets for our goal anymore." He pouted.
"We're not! If anything, we're using Subaru-san to give our pets a better life." She hummed, looking through the assortment of different decor.
"You really are a princess sometimes…"
Haibara playfully stuck her tongue out. "Deal with it."
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The group filled their shopping cart with a castle, rocks, plants, and coral. After purchasing the items, Subaru helped load them into Amuro's car.
They headed back to Agasa's house, clearing the area to make space for the new tank.
"Okiya-san! Do you mind staying to help Haibara-chan set this up? I have to go to an appointment."
"Sure, I don't mind." Subaru smiled.
"One minute, I think I forgot something in your car." Haibara said as she motioned Amuro to come outside.
The two stood in front of Amuro's car. He knelt down to whisper. "Keep him busy here for a bit, I'm gonna take a look around his house."
"I thought so…" Haibara sighed. "Why bother? We didn't find anything last time."
"Where's your detective spirit, Haibara-chan? We just need to find one little clue, and we could blow this whole thing wide open!"
"I am a scientist, not a detective." She huffed. "And as a scientist, we should be changing our methods. Doing the same thing again will just lead to no results, AGAIN."
"Just keep him busy for me, ok?" He pleaded. "I know what I'm doing!"
She sighed. "If you say so…"
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After filling the tank with water and carefully putting in the decor, the two gently dropped the fish into their new home.
"It's nice to have some company, huh?" Subaru said to Shuu as he gazed into the tank. "I also enjoy it."
"You do always seem prepared for guests." Haibara glared. "Suspiciously prepared."
"Well, I do look forward to my favorite visitors." He chuckled. "It can be scary, staying in that big house by myself."
"A grown man, scared?" She scoffed. "How ridiculous."
"You never know! There could be robbers..." He fixed his glasses. "That's why I set up a little security system."
"What…kind of security system?"
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After picking the lock to the house, Amuro scavenged the residence for anything that might seem helpful.
'Not much here, same as last time…' He carefully scanned the rooms upstairs. 'Hm? This wasn't here before…'
There was a box hidden in the desk drawer. He carefully lifted it, examining the outside.
Otherwise nondescript, it had some weight to it, and a lock securing it.
'I told you, Haibara-chan!' He grinned as he began picking at the lock, opening it with ease.
"Huh?!"
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Haibara gulped as a mischievous smirk grew on Subaru's face.
"Oh, it's nothing fancy, just a little dye pack hidden in my things.
"A dye pack?"
"Mm, with extra ink! But it won't do much, except make a mess I suppose!" He laughs.
Haibara nervously chuckled.
'Amuro won't fall for a cheap trick like that…right?'
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THE NEXT DAY
"Good morning, Amuro-san!" Azusa greeted as he came in for his shift at Poirot. "Hm? There's something blue in your hair…"
"Ah, this?" Amuro smiled as he tucked some hair behind his ears. "I was trying a different look with some hair dye, but it didn't come out right…."
"Really? You should try a salon for that sort of thing, it looks kind of patchy. Look, you even stained your fingernails!" She said as she looked him up and down. "But to be honest, I'm not sure if blue hair suits you…"
"You think so?" He chuckled.
'That jerk, Okiya! I had to throw away my good clothes!'
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ONE WEEK LATER
After the blue dye had finally faded off his skin and hair, Amuro paid Haibara another visit.
"Wow, this looks really nice! This tank was a good call, Shuu looks much happier."
"I guess you didn't find anything at Subaru-san's house?" Haibara raised an eyebrow. "You didn't say much after that day."
"Didn't find anything!" He shifted his eyes away from her gaze. "Not to worry, we'll get him next time."
"Anything weird happen while you were there?"
"Nope!" He chuckled nervously. "You were right, there was nothing to find there."
Haibara stood directly under Amuro, looking up at him with a smirk.
"Here." She said as she offered him a tissue. "Blow your nose."
"Is my nose running?" He said as he blew into the tissue.
There were hints of blue color tinting the thin tissue.
"..."
"Nothing weird happened, huh?" She crossed her arms.
"I'm just glad it wasn't glitter…" He sighed as he threw away the tissue.
"Oh well, the day wasn't a complete waste." Haibara smiled as she climbed up a chair to reach the tank.
The three fish swam around as she sprinkled some food in.
"I hope you three live happily for a long time,
Shuu, Hime, Zero!"
I had lots of fun writing this chapter :)
I'd love to hear what you think, and if you have any suggestions! Thanks for reading!