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Master has left for the day.
As usual, she tells me that she loves me, and tells me to be good while she's at school. She goes to this 'school' almost every day. It seems like it must be a very important place for her to go to if she goes there that often.
But that means I'll be alone.
I don't like being alone.
But, in order to not upset Master, I'll be 'good', just as she told me too.
Maybe I could play with a spoon? Master told me to not touch them, but I'm sure she only meant I couldn't when the yellow inkling scum is over. Master has bought me lots of toys to play with, but I don't think she realizes that spoons are the most fun.
I went to the kitchen, and eyed the drawer with the silverware in it. I tried hopping up to the counter, but I could not reach it. Curse this small body! Sometimes, I wish I had a chohock, or even just a chum's height!
I can't super jump up there either. Master says it's dangerous to do so. Oh, well. I give up. I'm sure Master has locked up the drawer anyway.
I'll just have to stick with playing with those toys on my own. But it's more fun when Master is here to play with me.
I heard my stomach growl.
I'm hungry.
Bad things happen when I get hungry.
That's what Master and her friends say, anyway. I do not understand why they think that way. I'm hungry, so I eat. It does not matter what I eat, does it?
Though now that I am thinking about it, Master might be upset if I try to eat one of her belongings. She seems to treasure them very much, and I do not want to be the one who makes Master sad.
Master has no doubt left some food for me. I roamed around the floor of the apartment, and found three plates of food left on the floor with a little note.
"Shio! Here's your meals for today! Don't eat it all at once, or you might get a stomach ache! Love, Rain."
Master worries for no reason. That has never happened before when I ate all of my food at once. Though, it could just mean that she wants me to space it out in case I get hungry later in the day.
We'll see about that.
I dug into the first plate.
Despite the fact that Master is a vegetarian, she still went out of her way to prepare meat for me. She understands how much I like it. And the coconut cookies she bakes are my favorite.
Master is very kind.
Master is very thoughtful.
The sky has turned red outside.
I do not think that is okay.
In fact, I think that is very, very bad.
Is Master okay at school? I'm sure that even if she isn't, she can take care of her own and defend herself. Master is very strong.
But we are a team. We are supposed to work together. And if Master is in trouble, I need to be the one who fights alongside her.
I tried jumping to the apartment door's handle to open it, but like with the counter, me and my jumps are still too short to reach it.
I roamed around the apartment, trying to find a way to get out of there. I noticed that Master had made a mistake, and that the doors to the balcony had been left open.
It is time for me to find Master.
I forgot something important.
I do not know where school is.
So instead of looking for the school, I decided to try and find what was causing the sky to turn red and the water to turn murky. I ended up in a place with large and ancient-looking fixtures and statutes.
I see, this is the place called Um'ami Ruins. I know because Master has told me about it. She said that her school went on a field trip here once.
There are also many Salmonids around me, from other smallfry, to chums, the chohocks, and everything in-between.
I understand now.
This is what happens when my kind decides to migrate. I remember when I was lost during one of these runs a while ago.
"Hey, smallfry! Why are you not following the others?"
There was a voice from behind me. It was another smallfry like me, though this one looked much younger and smaller.
"I am not a part of your run. I am looking for my master."
"Master…?" The young smallfry looked at me in confusion. I do not have time for this. I need to find Master.
"Why are you speaking to my son?"
A chum came up to me, the young smallfry's parent, from the looks of it.
"I was just leaving." I told them, turning away from them in the process. This was true. I do not believe that Master would be in a place like this, so she must be safe and still at school. I am relieved. I have to go home. Master will definitely be upset if she comes home from school and I'm not there.
"Did you get separated from your run? Why don't you join us? I'm sure we can bring you back to your family." The chum said.
"No. I am going home."
"Home? Is the ocean not your home?"
"It is not. My home is with Master."
The chum stopped dead in their tracks. They stared at me, as did a few other chohocks and chums that overheard our conversation. Their smallfry son hid behind them.
"Master…? Why would you- why would you call someone Master?"
The chum looked lost in thought for a moment.
Then they realized something.
Then they started to get angry.
"You are… living with an inkling? Have you truly betrayed your own kind for the enemy?!"
"Master found me. Master took care of me. My 'own kind' did not. Master is not my enemy. She is my friend." I explained.
"How could you ever consider inkling scum as a friend?!"
I'm getting mad. They cannot talk about Master that way. Master is not scum. But I will not show my anger just yet.
"Master is kind and thoughtful. She takes me to wonderful places, plays with me often, and always does her best to make sure I'm well fed."
"So, rather than wanting to be consumed, you want to be the one who consumes? Disgusting."
"Who in their right mind would want to be eaten?!" I exclaimed.
"That's inkling talk. They have infected you with their ways. They have made you fear death."
"I am not afraid of death. But I do not want to die. If I die, Master would be unbearably sad, and I will not be the one who causes her that pain."
"A fool you are, letting the inkling scum treat you like a pet. You are intelligent, yet you go out of your way to be treated as less than, wanting nothing more than headpats and belly rubs. We could have trained you. You could have become a Flyfish."
"I do not want to become a Flyfish!" I yelled, exasperatedly. This chum does not understand at all. I'm getting even angrier. He called Master 'scum' again.
"And you pathetically look up to it, call it your 'Master.'"
"Don't refer to Master as an 'it'!" I am no longer making an effort to hide how mad I am now.
"Even if you try to come back to us, you will not be accepted. You have lost our values. You have forgotten what it means to be a Salmonid."
"I don't want to go back!" I yelled.
"Then scram, kid!" A steelhead, of all salmonids, spoke up. Everyone in general radius is looking at me now.
"We don't have any room for traitors in our run!" The steelhead shouts at me.
I'm scared.
It's scary here.
I don't like it here.
I'm hungry.
I'm tired.
I want to go home.
I want Master.
I want Master!
I super jumped away from the ruins as quickly as I possibly could.
I want to go home to Master.
I need to go home to Master.
"Shio! I'm home!"
I heard Master's cheerful voice. I remember now. When I got back home, I was so tired that I fell asleep as soon as I got on the couch. Master rushed over, sat on the couch and pulled me onto her lap. She scratched my head in just the right spot.
"Did you miss me? Cause I missed you a lot!" She giggled.
I missed you very much. I wish you could understand what I'm saying. I nuzzled against her stomach, trying to get her to understand how I felt. She laughed.
"I'll take that as a yes!"
Good, she understood me.
Master put me down on the couch and went to the kitchen. I followed her. She picked up one of the plates of food I didn't finish. She immediately bent down to look at me with a worried expression on her face.
"Shio, are you okay? You didn't finish your food. That's so unlike you! Did something happen? Are you sick? Or is my cooking just gross?"
"Your cooking could never be 'gross', Master! It's because I was upset. I lost my appetite because those salmonids I met were badmouthing you. Oh, right. I went outside today and met some salmonids. I'm sorry I left without you knowing, Master. I won't do it again, I promise." I thought.
I wanted to tell her that, but I couldn't. She doesn't understand what I'm saying when I speak to her.
So, the best I can do is try to let her know I'm okay through actions.
As soon as Master put the plate down on the counter, I jumped into her arms and nuzzled against her chest. She laughed.
"Was I worrying for no reason?"
She put me down and went to pick up the basket with my outside toys in it. I jumped excitedly. I knew what that meant.
"I don't feel like doing my homework yet, so let's go play outside today!"
I rushed to the apartment door, while Master laughed at my excitement as she unlocked it.
I love Master.
I am very happy.