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Okay everyone. This was a story that I started a few years ago The (First Chapter) can be found there. I stopped writting it because both I know for a fact that I tend to have trouble keeping people interested in stories that lasted longer than 3 chapters AND FebROOary was over. I didn't think that anyone would care about it, but I got a few requests to continue it, so I did my best all January to finish three new chapters. They're not the best, but I'll continue to work on them while I have the time.
Anyway, those of you who are all caught up, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.
The Mommy Market (Shin Shinsetsu) part 4 Daycare
“Wakie wakie, Shin-shin.”
Scarlet shook Shin’s shoulder. He stirred a little bit as the light hit his eyes. It was so much brighter now for some reason. Shin wiped a trail of drool off his lips. He snapped himself to attention! He didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep.
“I’m awake! I’m awake!”
“Well, now you are,” Scarlet snickered to herself, which bounced Shin around a bit, “Come on Sweetheart, I know you have to be hungry by now.”
“Yeah a little,” Shin said as he started to climb out of the pouch, “Gah! Where are we?”
“The park, silly,” Scarlet smiled at her little joey’s face. He really was a deep sleeper. The moment that Scarlet finished making the sandwiches she found that Shin had fallen asleep. After a few minutes of wondering about whether or not to wake him, Scarlet packed up a basket and hopped onto the next bus headed to the local park. She thought it’d be a nice surprise for him.
“What are we doing here,” Shin ducked back inside.
“Oh come now,” Scarlet took a look inside, “come out of there.”
“No, people will see us!”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?”
“Is everything alright over there,” a female voice asked from a little further away.
“Oh yes,” Scarlet nodded, “Shin-shin’s just being a little bit cranky is all.”
“Oh my little Roger was the same way when he was younger,” that female said again.
“MOM,” a smaller voice whined.
“Oh your mama’s just teasing,” she assured the smaller voice before whispering to Scarlet, “and maybe he still does.”
“I see,” Scarlet smiled assuringly to the voice, turning to Shin once more, “now come on out Shin-shin.”
He hesitated at first, but Shin did as he was told. He lifted himself to look out from the pouch. The moment his head was up and out, he could put a face to both of those voices. Roger was a black and brown puppy, a skinny rottweiler with purple hair. He looked like he could be about six or seven as near as Shin could tell. Roger’s mother, however, was entirely human. Shin didn’t know which surprised him more.
“Oh, he’s so adorable,” Roger’s mom cooed, “how old is he?”
“Welp,” Scarlet started to lift Shin from her pouch now, “he’s five years old.”
“What? No, I’m not!”
“Oh that’s right,” Scarlet placed him down, “Since we went got back from the Market he was five and three quarters.”
Shin huffed to himself. He knew what she meant by that. He lost three years of his age in this reality. That certainly explained why and how he had his stuffed puppy bear again. Shin smiled as he hugged his stuffed toy.
Guess it was worth it. He yawned.
“Now Shin,” Scarlet pat him on the head, “this is our neighbor Ms. Haynes and her son Roger. They wanted to join us for lunch. Say ‘hello’ Shin..”
“Oh, Um…,” Shin bowed slightly, “Hello. My name is Shin Shinsetsu. Nice to meet you.”
“And he’s so polite too,” Ms. Haynes was easily impressed. Fact was Shin was scared out his mind, but his muscle memory covered any signs of that.
“So you’re a real roo,” Roger took a closer look at Shin, “why’s your hair pink?”
Shin pulled at a lock of his hair and blushed. He had all, but forgotten about his unnatural shade of hair color. It embarrassed him, so much so that he didn’t even bother pointing out the older boy’s own strange color.
“Roger,” Ms. Haynes was quick to scold her son, “I’m sorry Scarlet. He’s been asking other furs questions like that all day.”
“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine,” Scarlet patted Shin’s back as she turned him back around, “I know how kids can be quite curious creatures. It just so happens, Roger, that my hair is naturally red, while my husband’s is naturally white. Red and white make pink, you see?”
“Yeah! That makes sense,” Roger walked up to Shin, “I like your dog. What’s his name?”
“His name,” Shin turned to the dog boy, “I dunno… just puppy bear.”
“That’s a weird name,” Roger laughed, “mine’s name is Snowy. Cause he’s white.”
“You have one too?”
“Sure, but mama wouldn’t let me bring him to the park.”
“That’s because I’d like to keep him clean,” Ms. Haynes pet her son’s head, Roger blushed at this. He wasn’t used to her giving this much attention before.
“Oh speaking of which,” Scarlet pulled at puppybear, “we don’t want puppy bear getting dirty either now do we, Shin-shin?”
“No…,” Shin whined a bit as his childhood friend was taken from him again.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be safe right here,” Scarlet very carefully placed the stuffed toy back into her pouch before lifting the lunch boxes she was carrying. Shin remembered how hungry he was, “Ready to eat the lunch mommy packed, Shin-shin?”
“Yes… mommy,” Shin blushed even harder, not because he knew that he had to call her ‘mommy’, but rather because his stomach answered her question louder with a gurgling groan.
“Good,” Scarlet nodded before addressing Roger’s mother, “care to join us?”
“Might as well,” Ms. Haynes lifted her own basket, “seems like I always pack a little too much.”
She then reached down to take her pup’s hand. Roger didn’t take it at first as something was on his mind. Not that Shin noticed. His attention was distracted by seeing at the park for the first time. There were a few other families wondering around with their own little ones, all of them too small to walk on their own. There was also a romantic couple who were enjoying a picnic under a tree in the distance.
He then saw a playground with some tables nearby that would be perfect for a place for them all to sit down. He was about to point them out to Scarlet, but she was already on her way there.
“Hurry up, Shin,” Roger went back for his new friend, “You’re going to love mom’s egg salad.”
“And that’s the whole story,” Mary Ann twirled her hair a bit more, not looking the least bit amused by her companion’s explanation for their “damaged goods”.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Seton snapped, “It would have been just as likely to happen in your department as it was in mine.”
“And I didn’t say that it wouldn’t have,” Mary Ann smirked upon her makeshift perch.
“No, but it’s all over your face…”
“That’s because I know better than to go off script just to scratch my curiosities, Seton.”
“Here we go…”
“No, no,” the young lady manager began to pace the room, “as fun as it would be to start pointing fingers, I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, Seton.”
Mary Ann now paused to ponder the issue at hand. A kangaroo, a mere animal was taken in to become the human boy’s mother. True, the magic should have only changed with the boy and possibly even his closest living relative (namely the boy’s father), but instead the reality altering magic was spreading like wildfire. Other persons were being transformed into…
Mary Ann stopped in her tracks, “You know, it’s strange.”
“What is?”
“You said that the mother that the boy adopted was a Kangaroo, right?”
“Yeah, Emma’s big red kangaroo. Why?”
“Yes, Why? That’s the real question here. If the animal that was taken was a Kangaroo,” Mary Ann asked as she looked to her fellow employee, “then Why is Preston turning into a Dog and not into another Kangaroo?”
Seton stared at her for a few seconds. He didn’t quite get what she was getting at.
“There is some other kind of magic at work here.”
Most of the meal was good enough for Shin’s tastes, although Roger was incorrect about the egg salad. It had too many icky things floating around in it. Shin even slapped himself for thinking like that. He’s not a five year old. He’s eight, just like Roger. He had to remember that. Although, peppers and onions were not his choice for a good meal either.
Their mothers talked throughout the meal as if they were friends forever. Shin observed that the more that they spoke with each other the more they could actually relate to each other too. The world was still changing to fill in any blanks that existed. As for Roger and himself. The two of them stayed quiet for the most part. Even in this strange new world, there’d be no reason for them to become close friends.
“So, I guess you take after your dad, huh,” Shin asked Roger, “You know since you’re mom’s human.”
“I guess so, but-”
“I’m sorry Shin,” Ms. Haynes interrupted, “Roger doesn’t have a father.”
“Oh my,” Scarlet gasped, “did something happened to him?”
“Nothing happened. Roger just doesn’t have a father,” Ms. Haynes repeated herself,“None of my children do. You should know that… There is no father…”
Ms. Haynes’s expression became blank as she began repeating herself over and over. Roger cried out in shock as he dropped his cup it was suddenly warping and reforming. What was once a big boy’s cup with a straw attached was now a tinier sippy cup that barely spilled a drop. Roger even shrunk in his clothes. What used to be a nicely fit shirt became almost like a small dress on the poor pup. His jeans slowly shifted from being actual jeans to a fake stretchy look alike.
“Not again,” Roger cried as he looked horrified at his hands.
Shin and Scarlet shared an expression. Looking at each other they knew that they had shared the exact same crazy thought. Scarlet raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in disbelief. No, that couldn’t be possible. Could it? Shin on the other hand, wanted to act quickly.
“Whoops,” Shin shouted as he accidentally on purpose spilled his own cup across the table upon Ms. Haynes’s lap. The sudden flood of grape juice in her lap seemed to snap here back into reality instead of changing it.
“Oh I am so sorry about that,” Scarlet quickly went to help clean her human friend up, “Shin-shin is usually so good about not spilling his juice.”
“Oh it’s fine,” Ms. Haynes brushed it off as best as she could, the previous conversation completely forgotten, “I’m used to all kinds of spills and messes by now. Roger still wets the bed.”
“No, I don’t!” Roger cried out, completely unaware that his underwear was not quite made of fabric itself.
“Oh, sounds like someone’s getting cranky,” Ms. Haynes frowned at her child, still patting the juice off her legs. Roger clammed up. He knew better than to challenge his mother when she said that.
Almost as if she suddenly remembered, Ms. Haynes spoke again, “Oh Snowy!”
“What,” Roger turned to his left. Indeed, his snow white bunny dog puppet was sitting there with his beady brown eyes, but… Roger left Snowy at home! His mom wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t get dirty! And… The juice! Roger instinctively pulled Snowy out of the path of the dripping juice, just in time. Roger gave Snowy a quick look over. Yes, he saved his favoritest toy in the world from needing to go in the scary washer again… Roger shook his head. He didn’t normally think like that, but the fright of getting smaller combined with the joy of his favorite toy being safe, Roger gripped Snowy close to his chest.
“Is Snowy okay?”
“Yeah… I saved him,” Roger nodded his head blushing very hard. Turning to get down from his seat. He looked for his mother’s bag so that he could put the white puppet toy away. He stopped when he saw the diaper bag. Now Roger’s look of sheer horror alerted Shin that Roger was fully aware that reality had changed. But he had to be sure.
“Roger, you want to go play on the jungle gym?”
“S-sure,” Roger looked so skittish now compared to how he was before. He couldn’t figure out what happened to his body, but he knew that it wasn’t remotely right, the way it was now especially. What was once the older child was now suddenly barely a level above needing diapers. Roger quickly stuffed Snowy into the bag before he slowly stood next to his new “older” friend. Shin didn’t waste any time grabbing ahold of Roger’s free paw and tugging him away from his mother.
“Be careful Shin-shin,” Scarlet warned as the boys ran off for the playground, “Roger’s not quite as old as you are.”
Shin listened to Scarlet, especially as running with his feet felt absolutely wrong. Like running with flippers in water. It felt so much easier to jump on his toes than to run. It wasn’t that he was forced to hop, just that he felt more like a dog than Roger. Roger on the other hand, had to get used to his lighter pants forcing him into more of a waddle than a run. He was so scared about what has happened to him. That he couldn’t even register that he was in training pants, not an actual diaper.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Roger tugged at his waistband.
“You’re not really a dog, are you?”
“What,” Roger looked bewildered at Shin. Almost afraid that Shin would start teasing him now that he was the older of the two, just like his siblings had done.
“How old are you,” Shin asked, “or how old were you before all this?”
Roger was confused. Did this pink haired Kangaroo know the truth about him? Could it possibly be true?
“I was…,” Roger looked down. Still a little scared that Shin was going to make fun of him. Similarly, Shin was starting to have doubts about what he thought he saw earlier. So he decided to just come out and say it.
“Because I am supposed to be 8.”
“You’re lying,” Roger looked back to their mothers. He knew this world wasn’t supposed to be like this, “your mom’s been friends with my mom for years. You were just a runt always riding round in her p-pouch…”
Shin frowned. The pup had to be like him. He just had to be… Roger continued as Shin’s ears perked up.
“No… that can’t be right. We only met today… my mommy never took me on play dates before.…,” Roger’s eyes bulged as he realized what he just said, “Gah! not ‘mommy’. I meant ‘mom’. She is my mommy, but I meant to say ‘mom’!”
“Wouldn’t matter if she did,” Shin explained climbing up the plastic stairs, “because Scarlet isn’t even my real mom anyway.”
“What? So like your stepmom or-,” Roger proceeded to follow the older kid.
“No, I meant she is not my mom,” Shin tried to explain as best as he could, “see there was this magic spell and…”
“And it made your mom disappear,” Roger asked just as Shin reached the top of the stairs.
“So you do know what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah… sort of,” Roger looked back at the mothers who were now seated next to each other, watching their kids play, “but then who is she?”
“That’s a longer story…”
Dr. Youta Shinsetsu had decided to get out of the office for lunch. Of course, real doctors don’t “do lunch”, but it was an unusually slow day , especially after the seemingly endless epidemic of rashes from the previous day. It was almost as if the epidemic had never happened. The extra hours he was taking on were going to waste. You don’t want too many cooks in a kitchen and there couldn’t be too many doctors in the clinic.
Besides, he had his beeper and he wasn’t going too far. Just the donut shop around the corner. It was one of the small benefits of working at the small shopping center. He happened to be passing by a furniture store when something caught his eye. It was a novelty red race car bed. Upon seeing it, it triggered a very real memory that he had with his son. Now the real memory was years ago, but thanks to Shin’s drastic shift in age, the memory became as fresh as a few weeks prior. It was of one of the very rare occasions that his mother had let the two of them spend time together. Of course the memories were easily altered as Shin’s real mother wasn’t even there.
“Cool,” Shin’s ears perked upon seeing the car bed. Given that one was blue, “Look at that one, Daddy.”
“I see it,” Youta’s eyes twinkled at the small bout of happiness that his son expressed. His present self couldn’t quite remember why, but Shin was quite miserable up until this point. The small hop of happiness as he held his father’s hand tight.
“Want to try it out, Sport,” Youta wanted to ask, but for some reason it came out as, “Come on.”
Youta led his son straight to the toy like bed. They only had a short while to look before his wife would get suspicious. Shin did his best to keep up with his dad, of course the memory was so much harder than the reality had been. Shin looked at the bed with such a huge amount of joy. He knew that his mother would never approve of it, but even so he sat behind the wheel.
“Okay, Shin,” Youta looked around instinctively, of course Scarlet would never do something as stalk them, so the memory altered itself appropriately as Youta looking for as store employee that might stop them.
Shin pat at the wheel. He was so happy to just sit in the car he could never have. He could never have a toy as awesome as this. Suzumi would never let it happen. Wait… who was that? Why couldn’t Shin have such an awesome bed? He was old enough now.
That’s what Shin was thinking in his memories now. He knew that was the one bed that his son would have to have once he was old enough. That had to be why he was taking on so many extra shifts lately. He placed a hold on the car himself. His son absolutely had to have this bed.
With the memory finally settling itself into reality. What was supposedly his lunch break now shifted into something else entirely. Youta smiled to himself. He was going to be father of the year for this. Oh wouldn’t Shin be absolutely delighted.
“You know, you’re real smart for an eight year old,” Roger said as he flipped upside down on the bar. It actually hurt more than he thought it would, but he managed to swing there as Shin took in the compliment.
“I guess,” Shin shrugged to himself, “I had trouble with my math lately. Everyone else could figure it out, but I… not important right now.”
“I know…,” Roger returned to the ground, readjusting his shorts before he continued, “why does everything keep changing?”
“Because you don’t have a dad,” Shin pointed out, Roger freaked out a little, half expecting for reality to start shifting again, but it didn’t. Shin snorted as Roger’s paws instinctively slapped his hypothetical diaper front. Roger was glad that nothing dramatic had occurred this time.
“Don’t say that,” Roger mumbled to himself, “it makes things worse.”
“Only if your mom overhears us say that,” Shin tried to explain, “She’s the one triggering the changes in reality. I makes no sense for her to have kids if there was no father, so reality would change to rectify that.”
“But then why am I a dog?”
“…When did you get rid of your dad?”
“I didn’t…,” Roger spoke up, “my sister did. And it was last night.”
“Then that explains it,” Shin looked over to his mother, “The animal thing was my fault…I accidentally adopted Scarlet last night and everyone’s been growing fur since then.”
“Then what can I do?”
“Well, it means that you need to adopt a new dad.”
“How?”
“Well, if there’s a mommy market,” Shin crossed his arms, “then logically there must be a daddy market too.”
“I guess I’ve got no other choice,” Roger plopped to the ground. He suddenly felt very tired, “but I can’t remember what my daddy looked like.”
“He and you changed to match my new reality first so…,” Shin pointed out, “Chances are he’s a dog just like you.”
“But I’m not a…,” Roger yawned, “what’s wrong with me.”
“Younger bodies sucks,” Shin found himself yawning too, but he wasn’t the least bit tired.
“I guess I should go home and see if my-,” Roger stifled yet another yawn, “my sister can find out if there is a daddy shop. But how to get there? I doubt mommy would let us go ,even if my sissy and brotha were still old nuff…”
“Oh that’s easy,” Shin was about to explain, but was interrupted by Ms. Haynes reaching down to lift Roger up.
“Come on, Sweepy-puppy,” she lightly cooed, cradling her son, “It’s getting late.”
“Can Roger come play wiff me tomorrow,” Shin asked looking up at the kind mother.
“I don’t know,” Ms. Hayes hesitated.
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Scarlet stated from behind Ms. Hayes, “Tell you what, if we do Tuesday’s school work tonight, then we’ll see.”
“Yea,” Shin cheered dishonestly, “I’m gonna have a play date!”
“Kids,” Ms. Hayes rolled her eyes at Shin’s enthusiasm. Scarlet smile back at the fellow mother figure. She couldn’t help, but notice Shin’s paused in his enthusiasm.
“I’m going to have a play date,” Shin mumbled, smiling to himself, “I’m going to have a friend over.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Scarlet laughed, “because now you’ve got two days worth of school work to finish.”
Anyway, those of you who are all caught up, I hope you enjoy the latest chapter.
The Mommy Market (Shin Shinsetsu) part 4 Daycare
“Wakie wakie, Shin-shin.”
Scarlet shook Shin’s shoulder. He stirred a little bit as the light hit his eyes. It was so much brighter now for some reason. Shin wiped a trail of drool off his lips. He snapped himself to attention! He didn’t even realize that he had fallen asleep.
“I’m awake! I’m awake!”
“Well, now you are,” Scarlet snickered to herself, which bounced Shin around a bit, “Come on Sweetheart, I know you have to be hungry by now.”
“Yeah a little,” Shin said as he started to climb out of the pouch, “Gah! Where are we?”
“The park, silly,” Scarlet smiled at her little joey’s face. He really was a deep sleeper. The moment that Scarlet finished making the sandwiches she found that Shin had fallen asleep. After a few minutes of wondering about whether or not to wake him, Scarlet packed up a basket and hopped onto the next bus headed to the local park. She thought it’d be a nice surprise for him.
“What are we doing here,” Shin ducked back inside.
“Oh come now,” Scarlet took a look inside, “come out of there.”
“No, people will see us!”
“A little late for that, don’t you think?”
“Is everything alright over there,” a female voice asked from a little further away.
“Oh yes,” Scarlet nodded, “Shin-shin’s just being a little bit cranky is all.”
“Oh my little Roger was the same way when he was younger,” that female said again.
“MOM,” a smaller voice whined.
“Oh your mama’s just teasing,” she assured the smaller voice before whispering to Scarlet, “and maybe he still does.”
“I see,” Scarlet smiled assuringly to the voice, turning to Shin once more, “now come on out Shin-shin.”
He hesitated at first, but Shin did as he was told. He lifted himself to look out from the pouch. The moment his head was up and out, he could put a face to both of those voices. Roger was a black and brown puppy, a skinny rottweiler with purple hair. He looked like he could be about six or seven as near as Shin could tell. Roger’s mother, however, was entirely human. Shin didn’t know which surprised him more.
“Oh, he’s so adorable,” Roger’s mom cooed, “how old is he?”
“Welp,” Scarlet started to lift Shin from her pouch now, “he’s five years old.”
“What? No, I’m not!”
“Oh that’s right,” Scarlet placed him down, “Since we went got back from the Market he was five and three quarters.”
Shin huffed to himself. He knew what she meant by that. He lost three years of his age in this reality. That certainly explained why and how he had his stuffed puppy bear again. Shin smiled as he hugged his stuffed toy.
Guess it was worth it. He yawned.
“Now Shin,” Scarlet pat him on the head, “this is our neighbor Ms. Haynes and her son Roger. They wanted to join us for lunch. Say ‘hello’ Shin..”
“Oh, Um…,” Shin bowed slightly, “Hello. My name is Shin Shinsetsu. Nice to meet you.”
“And he’s so polite too,” Ms. Haynes was easily impressed. Fact was Shin was scared out his mind, but his muscle memory covered any signs of that.
“So you’re a real roo,” Roger took a closer look at Shin, “why’s your hair pink?”
Shin pulled at a lock of his hair and blushed. He had all, but forgotten about his unnatural shade of hair color. It embarrassed him, so much so that he didn’t even bother pointing out the older boy’s own strange color.
“Roger,” Ms. Haynes was quick to scold her son, “I’m sorry Scarlet. He’s been asking other furs questions like that all day.”
“Oh no, it’s perfectly fine,” Scarlet patted Shin’s back as she turned him back around, “I know how kids can be quite curious creatures. It just so happens, Roger, that my hair is naturally red, while my husband’s is naturally white. Red and white make pink, you see?”
“Yeah! That makes sense,” Roger walked up to Shin, “I like your dog. What’s his name?”
“His name,” Shin turned to the dog boy, “I dunno… just puppy bear.”
“That’s a weird name,” Roger laughed, “mine’s name is Snowy. Cause he’s white.”
“You have one too?”
“Sure, but mama wouldn’t let me bring him to the park.”
“That’s because I’d like to keep him clean,” Ms. Haynes pet her son’s head, Roger blushed at this. He wasn’t used to her giving this much attention before.
“Oh speaking of which,” Scarlet pulled at puppybear, “we don’t want puppy bear getting dirty either now do we, Shin-shin?”
“No…,” Shin whined a bit as his childhood friend was taken from him again.
“Don’t worry. He’ll be safe right here,” Scarlet very carefully placed the stuffed toy back into her pouch before lifting the lunch boxes she was carrying. Shin remembered how hungry he was, “Ready to eat the lunch mommy packed, Shin-shin?”
“Yes… mommy,” Shin blushed even harder, not because he knew that he had to call her ‘mommy’, but rather because his stomach answered her question louder with a gurgling groan.
“Good,” Scarlet nodded before addressing Roger’s mother, “care to join us?”
“Might as well,” Ms. Haynes lifted her own basket, “seems like I always pack a little too much.”
She then reached down to take her pup’s hand. Roger didn’t take it at first as something was on his mind. Not that Shin noticed. His attention was distracted by seeing at the park for the first time. There were a few other families wondering around with their own little ones, all of them too small to walk on their own. There was also a romantic couple who were enjoying a picnic under a tree in the distance.
He then saw a playground with some tables nearby that would be perfect for a place for them all to sit down. He was about to point them out to Scarlet, but she was already on her way there.
“Hurry up, Shin,” Roger went back for his new friend, “You’re going to love mom’s egg salad.”
“And that’s the whole story,” Mary Ann twirled her hair a bit more, not looking the least bit amused by her companion’s explanation for their “damaged goods”.
“Don’t look at me like that,” Seton snapped, “It would have been just as likely to happen in your department as it was in mine.”
“And I didn’t say that it wouldn’t have,” Mary Ann smirked upon her makeshift perch.
“No, but it’s all over your face…”
“That’s because I know better than to go off script just to scratch my curiosities, Seton.”
“Here we go…”
“No, no,” the young lady manager began to pace the room, “as fun as it would be to start pointing fingers, I fully understand the seriousness of the situation, Seton.”
Mary Ann now paused to ponder the issue at hand. A kangaroo, a mere animal was taken in to become the human boy’s mother. True, the magic should have only changed with the boy and possibly even his closest living relative (namely the boy’s father), but instead the reality altering magic was spreading like wildfire. Other persons were being transformed into…
Mary Ann stopped in her tracks, “You know, it’s strange.”
“What is?”
“You said that the mother that the boy adopted was a Kangaroo, right?”
“Yeah, Emma’s big red kangaroo. Why?”
“Yes, Why? That’s the real question here. If the animal that was taken was a Kangaroo,” Mary Ann asked as she looked to her fellow employee, “then Why is Preston turning into a Dog and not into another Kangaroo?”
Seton stared at her for a few seconds. He didn’t quite get what she was getting at.
“There is some other kind of magic at work here.”
Most of the meal was good enough for Shin’s tastes, although Roger was incorrect about the egg salad. It had too many icky things floating around in it. Shin even slapped himself for thinking like that. He’s not a five year old. He’s eight, just like Roger. He had to remember that. Although, peppers and onions were not his choice for a good meal either.
Their mothers talked throughout the meal as if they were friends forever. Shin observed that the more that they spoke with each other the more they could actually relate to each other too. The world was still changing to fill in any blanks that existed. As for Roger and himself. The two of them stayed quiet for the most part. Even in this strange new world, there’d be no reason for them to become close friends.
“So, I guess you take after your dad, huh,” Shin asked Roger, “You know since you’re mom’s human.”
“I guess so, but-”
“I’m sorry Shin,” Ms. Haynes interrupted, “Roger doesn’t have a father.”
“Oh my,” Scarlet gasped, “did something happened to him?”
“Nothing happened. Roger just doesn’t have a father,” Ms. Haynes repeated herself,“None of my children do. You should know that… There is no father…”
Ms. Haynes’s expression became blank as she began repeating herself over and over. Roger cried out in shock as he dropped his cup it was suddenly warping and reforming. What was once a big boy’s cup with a straw attached was now a tinier sippy cup that barely spilled a drop. Roger even shrunk in his clothes. What used to be a nicely fit shirt became almost like a small dress on the poor pup. His jeans slowly shifted from being actual jeans to a fake stretchy look alike.
“Not again,” Roger cried as he looked horrified at his hands.
Shin and Scarlet shared an expression. Looking at each other they knew that they had shared the exact same crazy thought. Scarlet raised an eyebrow, shaking her head in disbelief. No, that couldn’t be possible. Could it? Shin on the other hand, wanted to act quickly.
“Whoops,” Shin shouted as he accidentally on purpose spilled his own cup across the table upon Ms. Haynes’s lap. The sudden flood of grape juice in her lap seemed to snap here back into reality instead of changing it.
“Oh I am so sorry about that,” Scarlet quickly went to help clean her human friend up, “Shin-shin is usually so good about not spilling his juice.”
“Oh it’s fine,” Ms. Haynes brushed it off as best as she could, the previous conversation completely forgotten, “I’m used to all kinds of spills and messes by now. Roger still wets the bed.”
“No, I don’t!” Roger cried out, completely unaware that his underwear was not quite made of fabric itself.
“Oh, sounds like someone’s getting cranky,” Ms. Haynes frowned at her child, still patting the juice off her legs. Roger clammed up. He knew better than to challenge his mother when she said that.
Almost as if she suddenly remembered, Ms. Haynes spoke again, “Oh Snowy!”
“What,” Roger turned to his left. Indeed, his snow white bunny dog puppet was sitting there with his beady brown eyes, but… Roger left Snowy at home! His mom wanted to make sure that he wouldn’t get dirty! And… The juice! Roger instinctively pulled Snowy out of the path of the dripping juice, just in time. Roger gave Snowy a quick look over. Yes, he saved his favoritest toy in the world from needing to go in the scary washer again… Roger shook his head. He didn’t normally think like that, but the fright of getting smaller combined with the joy of his favorite toy being safe, Roger gripped Snowy close to his chest.
“Is Snowy okay?”
“Yeah… I saved him,” Roger nodded his head blushing very hard. Turning to get down from his seat. He looked for his mother’s bag so that he could put the white puppet toy away. He stopped when he saw the diaper bag. Now Roger’s look of sheer horror alerted Shin that Roger was fully aware that reality had changed. But he had to be sure.
“Roger, you want to go play on the jungle gym?”
“S-sure,” Roger looked so skittish now compared to how he was before. He couldn’t figure out what happened to his body, but he knew that it wasn’t remotely right, the way it was now especially. What was once the older child was now suddenly barely a level above needing diapers. Roger quickly stuffed Snowy into the bag before he slowly stood next to his new “older” friend. Shin didn’t waste any time grabbing ahold of Roger’s free paw and tugging him away from his mother.
“Be careful Shin-shin,” Scarlet warned as the boys ran off for the playground, “Roger’s not quite as old as you are.”
Shin listened to Scarlet, especially as running with his feet felt absolutely wrong. Like running with flippers in water. It felt so much easier to jump on his toes than to run. It wasn’t that he was forced to hop, just that he felt more like a dog than Roger. Roger on the other hand, had to get used to his lighter pants forcing him into more of a waddle than a run. He was so scared about what has happened to him. That he couldn’t even register that he was in training pants, not an actual diaper.
“You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Roger tugged at his waistband.
“You’re not really a dog, are you?”
“What,” Roger looked bewildered at Shin. Almost afraid that Shin would start teasing him now that he was the older of the two, just like his siblings had done.
“How old are you,” Shin asked, “or how old were you before all this?”
Roger was confused. Did this pink haired Kangaroo know the truth about him? Could it possibly be true?
“I was…,” Roger looked down. Still a little scared that Shin was going to make fun of him. Similarly, Shin was starting to have doubts about what he thought he saw earlier. So he decided to just come out and say it.
“Because I am supposed to be 8.”
“You’re lying,” Roger looked back to their mothers. He knew this world wasn’t supposed to be like this, “your mom’s been friends with my mom for years. You were just a runt always riding round in her p-pouch…”
Shin frowned. The pup had to be like him. He just had to be… Roger continued as Shin’s ears perked up.
“No… that can’t be right. We only met today… my mommy never took me on play dates before.…,” Roger’s eyes bulged as he realized what he just said, “Gah! not ‘mommy’. I meant ‘mom’. She is my mommy, but I meant to say ‘mom’!”
“Wouldn’t matter if she did,” Shin explained climbing up the plastic stairs, “because Scarlet isn’t even my real mom anyway.”
“What? So like your stepmom or-,” Roger proceeded to follow the older kid.
“No, I meant she is not my mom,” Shin tried to explain as best as he could, “see there was this magic spell and…”
“And it made your mom disappear,” Roger asked just as Shin reached the top of the stairs.
“So you do know what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah… sort of,” Roger looked back at the mothers who were now seated next to each other, watching their kids play, “but then who is she?”
“That’s a longer story…”
Dr. Youta Shinsetsu had decided to get out of the office for lunch. Of course, real doctors don’t “do lunch”, but it was an unusually slow day , especially after the seemingly endless epidemic of rashes from the previous day. It was almost as if the epidemic had never happened. The extra hours he was taking on were going to waste. You don’t want too many cooks in a kitchen and there couldn’t be too many doctors in the clinic.
Besides, he had his beeper and he wasn’t going too far. Just the donut shop around the corner. It was one of the small benefits of working at the small shopping center. He happened to be passing by a furniture store when something caught his eye. It was a novelty red race car bed. Upon seeing it, it triggered a very real memory that he had with his son. Now the real memory was years ago, but thanks to Shin’s drastic shift in age, the memory became as fresh as a few weeks prior. It was of one of the very rare occasions that his mother had let the two of them spend time together. Of course the memories were easily altered as Shin’s real mother wasn’t even there.
“Cool,” Shin’s ears perked upon seeing the car bed. Given that one was blue, “Look at that one, Daddy.”
“I see it,” Youta’s eyes twinkled at the small bout of happiness that his son expressed. His present self couldn’t quite remember why, but Shin was quite miserable up until this point. The small hop of happiness as he held his father’s hand tight.
“Want to try it out, Sport,” Youta wanted to ask, but for some reason it came out as, “Come on.”
Youta led his son straight to the toy like bed. They only had a short while to look before his wife would get suspicious. Shin did his best to keep up with his dad, of course the memory was so much harder than the reality had been. Shin looked at the bed with such a huge amount of joy. He knew that his mother would never approve of it, but even so he sat behind the wheel.
“Okay, Shin,” Youta looked around instinctively, of course Scarlet would never do something as stalk them, so the memory altered itself appropriately as Youta looking for as store employee that might stop them.
Shin pat at the wheel. He was so happy to just sit in the car he could never have. He could never have a toy as awesome as this. Suzumi would never let it happen. Wait… who was that? Why couldn’t Shin have such an awesome bed? He was old enough now.
That’s what Shin was thinking in his memories now. He knew that was the one bed that his son would have to have once he was old enough. That had to be why he was taking on so many extra shifts lately. He placed a hold on the car himself. His son absolutely had to have this bed.
With the memory finally settling itself into reality. What was supposedly his lunch break now shifted into something else entirely. Youta smiled to himself. He was going to be father of the year for this. Oh wouldn’t Shin be absolutely delighted.
“You know, you’re real smart for an eight year old,” Roger said as he flipped upside down on the bar. It actually hurt more than he thought it would, but he managed to swing there as Shin took in the compliment.
“I guess,” Shin shrugged to himself, “I had trouble with my math lately. Everyone else could figure it out, but I… not important right now.”
“I know…,” Roger returned to the ground, readjusting his shorts before he continued, “why does everything keep changing?”
“Because you don’t have a dad,” Shin pointed out, Roger freaked out a little, half expecting for reality to start shifting again, but it didn’t. Shin snorted as Roger’s paws instinctively slapped his hypothetical diaper front. Roger was glad that nothing dramatic had occurred this time.
“Don’t say that,” Roger mumbled to himself, “it makes things worse.”
“Only if your mom overhears us say that,” Shin tried to explain, “She’s the one triggering the changes in reality. I makes no sense for her to have kids if there was no father, so reality would change to rectify that.”
“But then why am I a dog?”
“…When did you get rid of your dad?”
“I didn’t…,” Roger spoke up, “my sister did. And it was last night.”
“Then that explains it,” Shin looked over to his mother, “The animal thing was my fault…I accidentally adopted Scarlet last night and everyone’s been growing fur since then.”
“Then what can I do?”
“Well, it means that you need to adopt a new dad.”
“How?”
“Well, if there’s a mommy market,” Shin crossed his arms, “then logically there must be a daddy market too.”
“I guess I’ve got no other choice,” Roger plopped to the ground. He suddenly felt very tired, “but I can’t remember what my daddy looked like.”
“He and you changed to match my new reality first so…,” Shin pointed out, “Chances are he’s a dog just like you.”
“But I’m not a…,” Roger yawned, “what’s wrong with me.”
“Younger bodies sucks,” Shin found himself yawning too, but he wasn’t the least bit tired.
“I guess I should go home and see if my-,” Roger stifled yet another yawn, “my sister can find out if there is a daddy shop. But how to get there? I doubt mommy would let us go ,even if my sissy and brotha were still old nuff…”
“Oh that’s easy,” Shin was about to explain, but was interrupted by Ms. Haynes reaching down to lift Roger up.
“Come on, Sweepy-puppy,” she lightly cooed, cradling her son, “It’s getting late.”
“Can Roger come play wiff me tomorrow,” Shin asked looking up at the kind mother.
“I don’t know,” Ms. Hayes hesitated.
“I wouldn’t mind at all,” Scarlet stated from behind Ms. Hayes, “Tell you what, if we do Tuesday’s school work tonight, then we’ll see.”
“Yea,” Shin cheered dishonestly, “I’m gonna have a play date!”
“Kids,” Ms. Hayes rolled her eyes at Shin’s enthusiasm. Scarlet smile back at the fellow mother figure. She couldn’t help, but notice Shin’s paused in his enthusiasm.
“I’m going to have a play date,” Shin mumbled, smiling to himself, “I’m going to have a friend over.”
“Don’t get too excited,” Scarlet laughed, “because now you’ve got two days worth of school work to finish.”
Category Story / Baby fur
Species Dog (Other)
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 59.7 kB
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