Part XV: Lip Service

But alone, in the middle of the ocean, in the middle of a giant fish, Hiro was at a loss.

He held up the match, which had begun to burn down to the tips of his fingers, and examined his surroundings. Is there a way out, he thought, and even if there is, what if the fish is at the bottom of the ocean? How will I escape then?

With the mouth of the fish closed, the fish's teeth had formed an almost solid wall of enamel. There was no direct way out through the teeth. Regardless, Hiro decided to walk around the border, and see if there was a gap.

It seemd like Hiro walked for hours around the perimeter of the Great Fish's mouth, searching for a broken tooth, or even a cavity to crawl through. But the fish's teeth were perfect. Almost as if it went for bi-yearly cleanings at some sort of giant dentist.

Time after time, Hiro shook out one match, only to light another, until he was down to his last match. That's when he saw it.

At the very back row of teeth, there was a space, small proportional to the teeth, but large enough for a human being to crawl through. Hiro pushed himself through the space, and saw, before him, the lips of the Giant Fish.

Hiro stood in awe at the size of the Fish's mouth before him. He was so in awe, in fact, that he didn't realize he had let the match burn down to his hand until it was too late.

What smells like Negimaki, Hiro thought, then looked over at his burning hand.

With a scream, he plunged it directly into the flesh of the fish next to him, hoping to stop the fire. It did, and, as it turns out, the flesh of the sish had mild cooling and healing properties which immediately made Hiro feel better.

What immediately made him feel worse is that plunging his hand into the Fish had caused it to open it's giant lips in surprise. For a moment, Hiro stood planted in place, his arm thrust into the gums of a giant fish, as the largest tidal wave Hiro had ever seen rushed towards him.

And then he ran*...

*Like the little sissy boy he is.


NEXT WEEK: Mouth Wash


THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF X-BALL:
PART I       PART II       PART III       PART IV

PART V      PART VI      PART VII      PART VIII

PART IX      PART X      PART XI      PART XII

PART XIII      PART XIV      PART XV