He stayed close by JW, his hands shoved into his pockets as he glanced around curiously (carefully NOT looking at the bell-ringer).
He blinked, flinching a little at the sudden rush of sounds and warmth. He could see the main part of the building through the next set of doors, and he could swear his eye hurt already.
The doors hissed open and the unholy beast welcomed them into its jaws.
There were approximately five thousand people in Walmart that day all hurrying to do their Christmas shopping. Children were begging their parents for toys. Music was blaring over the speakers. Babies were crying. Glittering gold and red and green covered every available surface that was not a price tag.
Ginko felt an immediate urge to turn around and leave.
Under different circumstances, he probably would have, but... he tore his gaze away from the horror before him to look at JW. Who looked so excited to show him this hellhole.
He was going to do this, wasn't he.
"I... don't know. What do you think we should look at first?"
"Hmmm..." JW led him deeper into hell and paused where the first 'lane' of human traffic appeared that parted the products from the check out lines. "Could show you some American food...or. Hey!" JW pointed.
There across from them was the Men's clothing section and on a clearance rack was a T-shirt depicting a white wolf posing dramatically in a thunderstorm that was somehow happening during a fully visible full moon.
Once again, Ginko forced himself to stop staring at the commotion around them (and a few clusters of what looked to be very well-fed Ah in the rafters) in order to look where JW was pointing. Then he squinted a little. Then he turned to look questioningly at JW.
"Look, it's white." JW steered them over to it and took a look at the price tag. It was seven bucks and an extra large. He glanced back at Ginko. It might be a little baggy on him but goodness knows these things shrink in the wash. "You want it? You want it. You're getting it."
In the cart it went.
Next up came the fresh produce section, which JW just hung back and let Ginko observe on his own. He was sure there were plenty of vegetables he'd never seen before.
Ginko wandered over and looked over the produce curiously. "...Wow. Guess it would make sense that you'd have some of these here; back home, they've usually got to be imported. They're usually pretty pricey, too."
"Half of this probably came from the other side of the country. Maybe...fiften Japans away. I don't think Walmart does anything local. We'd have to go to Brad's Market back home for that."
Brad's Market was maybe the size of JW's own house and occupied by maybe one person and a dog that may or may not have actually been a statue at any given time.
He tilted his head but let it pass. The hustle and bustle of Christmas Hell didn't even occurs to him. He just thought Ginko was being smart about not eating too many unfamiliar things.
"Okay, we can...I know!" He led Ginko through the produce section and stopped at the very end of the raw meats where the lobster tank loomed. "Check it out."
Ah yes good. Lobsters are going over well. He joined him in crouching, hands on his knees, and watched the buggy creatures.
"Mmhm...well. I don't guess they stay in there too long before someone buys them. They're a delicacy. Place only gets a few at a time. I wouldn't worry about them too much."
He patted him on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow. "C'mon, I got somethin' real great then."
ONWARD THROUGH THE HELL CROWD they went until they reached a far back corner of the store labeled Live pets. A wall of small, square tanks loomed over them, all brightly lit and filled with colorful fish that were guaranteed to die within a week of purchasing them. There were tetras and guppies and of course the token over-populated goldfish tank.
"Look." He pointed to a minute glass shrimp scurrying along the bottom of one tank. "No skin in there."
Ginko continued looking a little like he wanted to disappear as they continued through the store, but the fish tanks provided a pretty good distraction, and he grinned as he crouched down to get a better look at the shrimp. "Hey, look at that..."
He glanced up at JW, the grin shifting a little bit toward a smirk. "For the record, the mushi you held looked a little like a bigger version of one of those."
"A couple; aquatic mushi are actually pretty common." He idly pointed out a couple in the tank, even if JW couldn't see them. "These ones are pretty harmless. They're likely just feeding on the algae in the tank."
"Huh...y'know. On National Geographic, they had this special about fish that live at the very bottom of the ocean. I mean the very bottom. They're all clear and full of weird lights." He tapped on the glass and startled the guppies. "Y'think there are mushi who can be seen by--"
"Hmm...sounds like the fae. When they want to be seen at all." He was frankly glad that none had showed up during their walks in the woods. He also really hoped that none of them had gotten curious and followed him through the tree gate.
"Look at these." He moved aside and gestured to a shelf that was somewhat tucked away and lined with several colorful but depressed-looking fish in cups of water.
"Fighting fish? We always just called them Betas." He shrugged and tried to eye the prices without Ginko noticing. "Makes me wonder why nobody keeps catfish. If they get too big for the tank, just eat them."
The mushi master was thoroughly distracted looking over the fish themselves, sparing a brief glance at JW after a few moments. "Guess that'd be one way of handling it. Efficient use of resources and all that."
"They farm 'em these days but...they aren't really on display, y'know? Me and my grandpa, we fished a lot in the cow pond at the back of his pasture. I swear we caught a catfish as long as your arm."
JW held his hands apart. It was far wider than Ginko's arm length.
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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He stayed close by JW, his hands shoved into his pockets as he glanced around curiously (carefully NOT looking at the bell-ringer).
He blinked, flinching a little at the sudden rush of sounds and warmth. He could see the main part of the building through the next set of doors, and he could swear his eye hurt already.
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There were approximately five thousand people in Walmart that day all hurrying to do their Christmas shopping. Children were begging their parents for toys. Music was blaring over the speakers. Babies were crying. Glittering gold and red and green covered every available surface that was not a price tag.
JW grabbed a cart.
"What do you wanna see first?"
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Under different circumstances, he probably would have, but... he tore his gaze away from the horror before him to look at JW. Who looked so excited to show him this hellhole.
He was going to do this, wasn't he.
"I... don't know. What do you think we should look at first?"
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There across from them was the Men's clothing section and on a clearance rack was a T-shirt depicting a white wolf posing dramatically in a thunderstorm that was somehow happening during a fully visible full moon.
"You need that."
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"I do?"
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In the cart it went.
Next up came the fresh produce section, which JW just hung back and let Ginko observe on his own. He was sure there were plenty of vegetables he'd never seen before.
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Ginko wandered over and looked over the produce curiously. "...Wow. Guess it would make sense that you'd have some of these here; back home, they've usually got to be imported. They're usually pretty pricey, too."
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"Half of this probably came from the other side of the country. Maybe...fiften Japans away. I don't think Walmart does anything local. We'd have to go to Brad's Market back home for that."
Brad's Market was maybe the size of JW's own house and occupied by maybe one person and a dog that may or may not have actually been a statue at any given time.
"See anything you wanna try?"
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"...No, it's fine."
That sounded a lot like decision-making, which was not something he could do in these conditions.
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"Okay, we can...I know!" He led Ginko through the produce section and stopped at the very end of the raw meats where the lobster tank loomed. "Check it out."
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"That'd keep them fresh, anyway. Are they just in there all the time?"
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"Mmhm...well. I don't guess they stay in there too long before someone buys them. They're a delicacy. Place only gets a few at a time. I wouldn't worry about them too much."
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He patted him on the shoulder and gestured for him to follow. "C'mon, I got somethin' real great then."
ONWARD THROUGH THE HELL CROWD they went until they reached a far back corner of the store labeled Live pets. A wall of small, square tanks loomed over them, all brightly lit and filled with colorful fish that were guaranteed to die within a week of purchasing them. There were tetras and guppies and of course the token over-populated goldfish tank.
"Look." He pointed to a minute glass shrimp scurrying along the bottom of one tank. "No skin in there."
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He glanced up at JW, the grin shifting a little bit toward a smirk. "For the record, the mushi you held looked a little like a bigger version of one of those."
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He suppressed a shudder.
"Say, any mushi in there? With the fish? Seems like a weird place...I dunno. Ghost bacteria would live."
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He almost said 'normal people'.
"--folks like me."
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He stopped himself before saying 'humans'.
"They're out there."
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"Look at these." He moved aside and gestured to a shelf that was somewhat tucked away and lined with several colorful but depressed-looking fish in cups of water.
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JW held his hands apart. It was far wider than Ginko's arm length.
Please be impressed I'm running out of ammo.
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He looked... maybe vaguely impressed? It could be hard to tell with Ginko. But he didn't seem to notice the inconsistency, or doubt the story.
"Maybe we should go fishing sometime. Don't really get a lot of chances to do that with someone else."
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