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Wadanohara excuses herself, wanting to go say hello to everyone in town. She notes her little sister and how she lives on land, saying she gets letters from her. Able to help hold back the Tosatsu Kingdom's invasion, Wadanohara saying.
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It was hard to tell if there had been any stranger reason as to why he was answering his door at 4 o'clock in the morning. The town wasn't being attacked, no one was being hunted, Wadanohara hadn't come back from her voyage yet. So why was he standing in his pajama pants at his door at 4 o'clock in the morning?
It may have been the angry bull shark that was giving him the death glare and the small child she held behind her.
Samekichi blinked twice before slowly asking the woman on his doorstep.
'Can I help you with something?'
The woman just tossed her hair back with a huff and dug into her pocket for a slip of paper and stuffed it into his hand with a growl. 'Give that to the jackass if you ever see him. He needs to own up and take some damn responsibility.'
The great white had absolutely no idea what she was talking about, and he watched stunned as she knelt down and gave the child kisses on his cheeks and forehead and cupped his face.
'Be a good boy alright, Lucas?'
'Yes, mommy.' She smiled fondly at the boy, then stood up and started walking back over to the witch waiting at the end of the lawn. That was when Samekichi started running after her.
![Wadanohara Go Help Him Go Ahead Wadanohara Go Help Him Go Ahead](/uploads/1/2/5/7/125719167/307177186.jpg)
'Hey! Hold on a minute!' He caught her arm, which she quickly yanked back away from him, then growled. 'Look lady, I don't know who you are or who your kid is, but you can't just drop him off on my doorstep in the middle of the ni-'
'His name is Lucas,' She cut him off with one pointed nail into his chest. 'And he's your nephew, Samekichi. Since I can't find his father anywhere, I'm trusting you to look after him.'
'Woah woah woah, hang on a minute. You mean to tell me that you and-?'
'Yeah, and it was the biggest mistake I made. Only good thing that came out of that night was Lucas over there but he needs some sort of male figure in his life. Being Princess Uomi's personal body guard, I was hoping you fit the bill and it seems you fit it...quite well.'
Okay, she was staring at him and he suddenly felt very exposed without his shirt on. He brushed it off and brought her attention off his chest.
'Lady, I-'
'Osuushi. My name is Osuushi.'
'Osuushi...I can't just take him in. People are gonna wonder where the hell I got a kid from and why he looks so much like...him.'
'I know it's bad move on my end to just dump him on you like this, but I'm only doin' it because I know if he grows up with me, he ain't gonna have much of a future. With you he atleast has a chance. I'm askin' ya' to give him that much, Samekichi.'
She glanced back to her son still waiting patiently by the door, clinging to his stuffed narwal tightly. He was staring at her with those big eyes that took in all the world all at once. Even if one was blood red, she couldn't help but melt at the sight of them.
'He ain't got much in this world as it is,' She continued. 'I can't keep him fed for some days at a time and others he hardly gets anythin'. Please, Samekichi,' She took the older shark's hands in her own, tears climbing to her eyes as she sniffed. It made his heart clinch a little in all honesty.
'I'm beggin' ya' please take him. If he ain't got you he ain't got no one.'
The great white was torn between what to do. The rational part of him was screaming at him to tell Osuushi no and make her leave with Lucas in tow. But the sentimental part of him was egging him on to take the boy, see to it that he had all the necassary requirments for a healthy childhood. He could easily provide everything the child needed and more. And Wadanohara had been hinting at him lately that house seemed a little 'too quiet.'
He sighed in defeat, pinching the space between his eyes before mumbling. 'Alright, fine. I'll take him. On the condition you come to visit at least twice every month with a call or letter in advance.'
The moment the words left his mouth, Osuushi had flung her arms around his neck, forcing him to bend down awkwardly due to the size difference as she sobbed.
'Thank you! Thank you! I'll come twice a week if you want me too! Oh thank you, Samekichi!'
He pat her back a bit awkwardly, trying to quiet her down before someone woke up and wondered what the commotion was.
'A-Alright, alright. Keep it down or you'll wake the neighbors.' The emotional woman pulled away and wiped at her eyes while sniffing, collecting herself and clearing her throat.
'I'm fine. I'm good.' She marched over and gave her son one last hug and kiss goodbye, smoothing down his hair behind his fin and giving him a tearful smile.
'Alright, Lucas. Mommy's gonna leave you here with Uncle Samekichi now. But Mommy's gonna come back to visit, I promise.' She kissed his forehead one more time. 'I love you, baby boy.'
'I love you too, Mommy.'
Then Osuushi was standing up and walking to the witch still waiting, getting handed a tissue which she used to wipe her eyes. Then with a snap of her fingers, The witch and her familiar were gone.
What did Samekichi just get himself into?
He turned back towards the house, scratching his the back of his neck as he walked towards the boy and his stuffed Narwal. Great Sorcerer, he really did look a lot like his dad. That was probably not going to go over too well with the town's people. Not after what happened with Tosatsu Kingdom.
He squatted down to the boy's level, giving what he hoped was a friendly grin. 'Hey there, Kid. Guess you and me are gonna be spending a lot more time together.' He chuckled nervously but the boy remained unresponsive. It was getting more awkward by the second until the child's stomach rumbled from underneath his too big shirt.
'You hungry, Lucas?' Finally the boy nodded slowly, holding his toy closer to him and watching his newfound uncle with curious eyes.
'C'mon, let's get you something to eat.' He stood up and was about to go in before he saw Lucas reaching his arms up to him, bouncing on his toes with a look of expectancy. Oh, he wanted to be picked up.
'C'mere.' He hoisted the smaller shark up onto his waist, holding him up with ease and grabbing his backpack then carrying him inside. He was too light for his age. Osuushi must not have been lying when she said he wasn't eating a whole lot. It only made him that much more glad he had agreed to take Lucas in. He hated to think if he hadn't the kid may have starved.
Once inside, he set Lucas down on the counter, his little legs dangling off the edge and swinging gently as Samekichi rummaged through the fridge. He didn't want to give him anything too filling in fear he might make him sick, but he didn't want the kid to go to bed hungry either.
Decisions decisions.
He finally pulled out some simple fish snacks that Wadanohara had left him should he ever come down in the middle of the night. He stole one for himself before handing the plate off to the child. He watched with interest as Lucas eyed the plate of food, taking one hesitantly and examining it. It was something akin to a crab-cake, though honestly as long as it had some sort of meat in it Samekichi was fine. He was alrady swallowing his second bite when Lucas took his first, chewing it slowly for only a second before his eyes brightened and he stared at the treat like it was the most heavenly thing on earth.
In this situation, it may have just been.
'You like it?' Samekichi asked with an amused smile tugging at his mouth, watching his nephew nod enthusiastically before stuffing the rest of the treat into his mouth and grabbing another. One after another, the plate was slowly cleaned of food, and then the child was left sitting there licking his lips and fingers.
'You're making a mess of yourself,' Samekichi frownd, grabbing a towel and cleaning up the boy's face and hands. Surprisingly enough, he held still for the older shark until he was done. Nodding in approval, Samekichi threw the towel haphazordly back onto it's rack, grabbing one of Dolphi's juices for the boy and opening it for him. Lucas downed a good fourth of the bottle with one breath, stopping only when his uncle took the bottle from him and warning him about joking. Then he was slowly taking gulps of the sweet orange juice until half the bottle of was empty.
He looked up the grey haired shark and gave him the biggest smile Samekichi had ever seen. It would be wrong if he didn't return it, along with a well meant hair ruffling. The boy's soft laughter was cut off by the long yawn that escaped him and he rubbed his eyes in this way that Samekichi could have only described as cute.
'Alright, time for bed.' He chuckled, picking the tired little shark up and holding him to his chest. He looked to the backpack on the ground. 'D'you bring pajamas, Lucas?'
He felt the boy nod tiredly against his shoulder. He carried him upstairs and showed him the bathroom so he could change or if he needed to go during the night. When he came out, Lucas was in a pair of squid footie pajamas. It was almost too adorable.
No. It hit maximum adorableness when the child asked, 'Can I sleep with you, Samekichi?'
'Your mom let you sleep in her bed?' Lucas nodded and Samekichi couldn't find it in him to say no.
'Alright. C'mon, you're going to be tired enough as it is in the morning.' Lucas was in his arms once again, and this time the boy lay his head on his shoulder and closed his eyes, sleep tugging his tiny frame away to the land of dreams. He was already breathing deeply by the time Samekichi tucked him under the blankets and set his backpack down on the floor beside the bed.
'Night, kid,' He murmured, flicking off the light and crawling back under the covers with a sigh. He was going to have to tell Wadanohara and Princess Uomi about Lucas. Maybe he should pay Cherryblod a visit just so he could figure out all this raising a kid business, after all he was really the only person he knew that actually had a child. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of Cherryblod fawning over Lucas with his wife in tow.
He felt a small weight at his side and peered down, eyes widening when he saw Lucas curled up next to him, tail wrapped around him like some sort of extra blanket and thumb firmly in his mouth. He reached down and gently ran a hand over the boy's head, smoothing down the snow white locks of hair that wanted to stubbornly remain sticking up. How could something like this come from someone like his brother? This tiny creature, the most pure essence of innocence coming from something so sinister and evil was almost mind boggling.
Samekichi sighed again, his head thumping against the pillow as he stared up at the ceiling. This was not where he imagined himself four years after Tosatsu Kingdom's invasion, with a child that wasn't even his own curled under his arm sleeping next to him. The boy had already wormed his way under The Shark's skin though, and he was actually fearing the day when someone would take him away.
He'd give up his other eye before that day happened. For now however, he was content with having Lucas sleeping peacefully nestled against his side and Samekichi found his own eyelid struggling to stay open. He would write Wadda a letter in the morning and have the Mailman deliver it to her, maybe even put it on express mailing. Samekichi rolled onto his side, bringing Lucas closer as sleep pulled him away from the conscious world as well.