capeandcowllogs

Entry tags:

betta

WHO: Shark & Yuma.
WHERE: (on the way to & at) The pet store.
WHEN: The 28th, Friday.
WARNINGS: Fish
WHAT: Shark & Yuma talk. Shark tests his powers on unsuspecting goldfish.
FORMAT: whatev

(from here)

Okay, so this wasn't how he'd planned the afternoon, but it sure was better than the original plan of "sit at home and contemplate how much everything sucks", so the impromptu trip to the pet store was sort of a welcome distraction. Sure, it felt ridiculous, but it might actually prove useful.

The whole powers thing was new territory but probably the kind of new territory that was important to know, considering that was meant to be their purpose or whatever. If there was any chance the fish deal was related to his powers, then it wasn't something he was going to put off.

Shark locked the door behind them, making his way to the stairwell without waiting up.

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"That's just how it works."

It wasn't too difficult to keep up with Shark in the short hallway or down the stairwell, but that was mostly because Shark wasn't actively trying to shake Yuma's presence. The toy orca, the catalyst for this trip in particular, hung loosely from Yuma's hand, occasionally swimming through the air when he gestured.

"If I use the same things more than once, I get the same thing at the end, so maybe I've just gotta combine everything to figure out what I'll get? But the surprise is kinda fun sometimes."

"Until it becomes something dangerous."

Still, it sounded like something useful. Unpredictable, but effective. And it Yuma could do that with anything, then it was versatile. Shark was almost... jealous? Especially if his hunch about his own powers was right.

"What about the other one? That didn't sound like a power."

The stairwell was quiet, kind of eerie and cramped even during daylight, echoing his own words back at him. The quicker they got outside, the more comfortable he'd feel.

Yuma's footsteps faltered at the start of that response, wincing behind Shark. He still hadn't told him the full story about that day; how much he remembered, and the things he'd done under 96's control. It was maybe some act of fate, that Shark arrived on that day of all days, but he just couldn't work up the nerve to say anything, or apologize.

He could have killed Shark.

But the other boy kept on with a different topic, so Yuma shook himself out of that daze, hurrying to catch up.

"What, you mean about the rice?"

Glancing back as he hears the rushed footsteps follow him, Shark slows momentarily so that Yuma can remain just a couple of steps behind him and the conversation doesn't turn into an echo-y mess. But he speeds up again as they reach a landing, trying to remember how Yuma had worded his other power.

"Yeah, that. You said you don't run out, but that doesn't explain anything."

The floors passed quickly beneath them as they talked, and in no time at all they were finally out on the first floor, and soon after onto the street itself. It would only be a few blocks to reach the shop Yuma was thinking of.

"Oh. Right, uh... even if my pockets are empty, I can pull out a duel lunch whenever. I don't have to make 'em or buy rice or anything, but they're always there when I need them. I don't really get where they come from or anything like that, but they're good."

"Free food must be nice."

Shark can't help but raise an eyebrow at that, turning his head so Yuma doesn't notice his expression. Being outside felt better, but it still wasn't exactly pleasant; the air was somehow both cold and muggy. He hoped the store wouldn't be too much of a trip.

"Yeah, a little. They're just like the ones Grandma makes." It was always a chore, trying to keep just how homesick he was out of his voice, and some days brought more success than others. The already-serious mood meant hiding feelings like that wasn't as easy; Astral would recognize it under even the heaviest of masks, but many of the people Yuma's talked to in this world couldn't read below his surface at all.

He moved the orca from one hand to another. "But having nothing but rice all the time's boring, so I've still gotta cook anyway." A shrug, nonchalant, filling up space. "You can come over for dinner or whatever whenever, if you want."

The words were carefully spoken, and Shark could suspect what Yuma was feeling. Having spent days on his own, wondering what he was missing back home, worrying about Rio - Rio, who he couldn't see, couldn't check up on - but it must be worse for Yuma, considering how long he said he'd been here.

"I'm used to cooking for myself," he said, not really a proper response to the offer, more like an excuse for not showing up. The pet store was in sight now, some distraction from the current topic.

It was an expected dismissal, and it rolled easily off Yuma's back. It was the thought that counted, right? Sure, he didn't know much about Shark's family, and even less about his home life, but it wasn't easy being here at all, was it? Yuma had had Astral here for him; who did Shark have? Shark said they didn't have to like this place, but he didn't want Shark to be miserable and alone, either.

But hey, they were here! A bell over the door chimed for their entrance, and Yuma practically bounced on his heels. "This way, this way," he called, verbally dragging Shark towards the shadowed realm fish tanks.

It was the thought that counted, indeed. It wasn't exactly that he didn't want to, it was more the feeling of... well, Shark had kind of expected that the next person he properly ate a meal with would be his sister, and a part of him didn't want that to change just because of this weird situation. It nagged at his mind as he followed Yuma to the back of the store, occasionally slowing his stride to look at the other animals and distractions the shop offered.

The wall of tanks glowed with fluorescent light, ominous in the dark corner of the shop. He stayed a couple of feet back, the full realisation of how utterly ridiculous this was now hitting him.

The selection wasn't terribly wide, and consisted entirely of fresh-water fish. Most of the tanks were full of very small fish, no more than three or four inches in length, though what they lacked in size they occasionally made up for in color; bright, bold yellows and reds and shimmering, iridescent blues and greens.

Yuma, of course, was immediately distracted by movement and color, and promptly lost track of Shark for examining the inhabitants of the tanks.

Shark approached the tanks, and immediately felt something was different. There wasn't a bunch of beady eyes following him - the fish didn't move any closer. He didn't feel the same as he had in the aquarium where - oddly - he'd felt more at home than he'd felt anywhere else in this dank world so far.

"Yuma, this isn't going to work."

"Huh?" He turned a little, glancing over his shoulder back at Shark. "What's not?"

"Idiot, you suggested coming here to test my powers, remember? But it's not going to work."

Shark stared at the tanks, hoping something would change, but... nothing. Maybe he had imagined it... but, no, this was definitely lacking something. There had been something going on at the aquarium, he was more sure now.

"Oh." He turned to glance back at the tanks, then at Shark. The idea that he might have just been messing with Yuma was a possibility, but not one Yuma considered. He fussed a little with the orca toy, rolling back his shoulders. There had to be some reason why it didn't work here but it worked before, right?

What was the difference between here and the aquarium?

"Are they too small?"

"I don't think that's it," Shark started, thinking. "It could be, but... no, it's something else. Something doesn't feel right."

He looked at the tanks, the filters, the plants, the fish, and then turned back to Yuma and the orca. What was different? Aside from the whole scale being smaller... why would he have such a power, anyway? Yeah, his deck used fish, and he was 'Shark', but... he felt like a moron.

"Hmm..."

He looked once more at the fish, trying vainly to piece it together, but all Yuma could come up with was Kotori could figure this out. Or Feferi, maybe, but between her amnesia and his dying, he hadn't had the chance to reconnect with her. Calling her up for a favor now would just be weird.

Puzzles like this weren't for Yuma; he crossed his arms, scuffing the toe of his shoe against the linoleum floor. Who would have thought fish could be so complicated?

However, Shark was staring at the orca plush. The aquarium... he knew he was missing something big, like it was at the edge of his mind, and it just couldn't coalesce itself into an actual thought.

He sighed. "I'm leaving. There's nothing here."

Back outside, Yuma was no closer to an answer than before. "What the heck's so different about house fish and ocean fish?" he questioned, not directed at Shark or anyone else. Hell, even Astral would be able to figure this out, obsessed with nature documentaries as he was. But as for Yuma, he was clueless! At this rate, they were going to have to go to the aquarium itself for answers.

"I don't know! It doesn't make a--"

Shark stopped abruptly, running Yuma's question over again. Something had struck and pushed that thought over the edge of his mind. The difference between house fish and ocean fish was...

"The ocean. That's the difference."

The abruptness caught Yuma by surprise, but...

"It is?"

How did that make any sense? It was just water.

"Do you have a better idea? The ocean is salt water. Different things live there, it's a completely different environment."

It seemed right. It sounded right.

Things Yuma didn't know: the log: the thread: the lifestyle. But Shark sounded pretty sure of himself, and if he was confident in it, then Yuma would be, too.

"So where to now?" His voice had more energy in it now, getting more pumped up. "The aquarium? The docks?"

Despite Yuma's enthusiasm and the breakthrough(?), he still felt like an idiot. If he was wrong, then they would have just spent a whole bunch of time on a wild goose - fish? - chase. So then, where to next?

"...I'm going back to the apartment."

"What?"

From what Yuma had seen, there were neither house fish nor ocean fish at the MAC, and definitely not in Shark's barren apartment.

"Why?"

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