Mukai was a little escape artist.

Tsuchiya had no idea how she kept on getting out of their bedroom…and without making a sound. She was two, she ran everywhere, and when she ran somewhere she always announced where she was going. That was daytime Mukai, apparently, nighttime Mukai moved like a cat burglar. Her little bed was empty and there was a trail of toys leading out the opened bedroom door to the rest of the house. She hoped that Mukai was at least still in the house. How she managed to get the front door opened was a mystery in and of its self.

She was such a smart kid.

Too smart. Apparently Suzuki was a genius or something. She…wasn't entirely unconvinced. You had to be smart to run an empire like Claw…well not only run it but build it from the ground up. He wasn't a stupid man, President Suzuki, he was just…really weird and kind of a bad parent. He wasn't actively malicious, though, which was a surprise. He largely just wanted to be left alone in his own weirdness. Mukai liked him, though, so that was what mattered. She liked him…but she didn't know that he'd abandoned her…she was a smart kid. One day she and Tsuchiya were going to have a long talk about her dad and her biological mother, a short talk since nobody seemed to know a single thing about this woman, and then…and then she'd let Mukai feel however she wanted to feel. When she was older.

Right now Tsuchiya had enough to deal with.

"Come on, Mukai…." Muttered Tsuchiya as she got up. Her bed was so warm and inviting…but she had to find Mukai. She never went far, normally she was either playing somewhere in the house or she was with her dad. President Suzuki may have been a lot of things but he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Sure he let her have all the candy and soda that she wanted…and he let her have all the toys she wanted…actually he didn't seem to learn the meaning of the word 'no' and 'I'm spoiling you' and 'stop throwing things' but…well he would never let anything bad happen to her.

He loved her.

President Suzuki…loved his daughters very much. He loved Shigeko…to a degree…and he loved Mukai…but he treated Sho like something he found in the back of the fridge…poor kid….she took a deep breath and slipped her slippers on. There was no point in contemplating President Suzuki's terrible parenting. She was doing the best she could with what she had. This was her life now and she knew that it didn't make any sense to sit there and agonize over the things that she couldn't change. She just had to take one day at a time, that was all. She just had to get through today and then tomorrow and the next day and the next day….

Until the day she died.

Yes…this was her life. This house full of…interesting…people. Yes. She got to meet a lot of interesting people these days. She had known a lot of interesting people before. She wondered how Matsuo's sticker collection was growing, he had been worried about rebuilding after the explosion, and she wondered if Koyama and Sakurai had ever made up…she wondered about a lot of things. She wondered a lot of things about a lot of people…and it didn't matter. She was never going to see…well never say never. Maybe the novelty of having a two year old would ware off and then President Suzuki would finally let her and Mukai go…

Wishful thinking.

This was her life now. This room, this house, this mess. The feel of what had to be crumbs under her slippers as she crossed the hallway. The toys she had to kick away. The constant smell of tobacco and marijuana the hung in every corner of the house. The sound of snoring…more like the sound of a chainsaw…that came from the living room. That was Shibata. She didn't need to see him to know how he snored. Maybe he would have slept better if he slept in an actual bed…maybe the next place they lived in would be bigger.

A lot bigger.

"Coloring! Coloring! I'm coloring!" laughed Mukai. Tsuchiya heard her before she saw her. That was…not a good sign. Mukai was happy, which was good, but she was coloring, That was…less good. She could have been coloring in her coloring book or on the walls…or herself. She really hoped that Sho hadn't left his permanent markers out again….that hadn't been a fun day at all. Mukai hated baths almost as much as Sho hated them. Tsuchiya could smell the alcohol of permanent markers as she made her way to the living room and….

Yup. Those were permanent markers alright…but they were the least of her problems.

"Shush. You want him to wake up?" asked Shimazaki. He was….well he liked looking after Mukai. He was good with her. He was really good with her. He was terrible with everyone else, he ranged from vaguely annoying to actively malicious, but he was good with Mukai. He hadn't had any kids of his own so, of course, he wanted to take care of hers….that was….that was all that it was…

She didn't know what anything was anymore.

"Wake up! Time to-" said Mukai. Shimazaki grabbed her and…teleported away! Tsuchiya felt her heart jump into her chest. He could have been anywhere with her. He could have taken her to…she had to stay calm. She stayed calm…she took a deep breath…in for four and out for four…in for four and out for four…she tuned everything else out. Shibata waking up…the feel of the auras around her…and the feel of…there was Mukai. She was in the kitchen…she was laughing…she was fine…

Mukai was fine.

She could hear it. Her daughter was fine. She was fine and…and of course Shimazaki wouldn't have done anything to hurt her. He cared about her. He wouldn't have been actively malicious towards her…and…and that wasn't what she was worried about. She didn't even want to think about what she was so worried about. Rumors…she was…she didn't need to worry about…or maybe she did. Shimazaki cared about Mukai but…but also she knew what she'd heard…what Minegishi had said.

Maybe they had been intervening the wrong person.

Shimazaki was….not the best person and…and the thought of him thinking about Shigeko like that…that was….well Minegishi had said that it wasn't….the whole thing was confusing and she had to put her daughter first. Mukai was laughing…which was good….but…Tsuchiya knew better. Sure she liked it when her daughter was happy but she was Mukai's mother, not her friend, and she had to think about what was best for her daughter.

And Shimazaki Ryou was not what was best for her daughter.

"Make candy!" shouted Mukai. Tsuchiya could hear pots and pans clattering together. She kicked some more toys off to the side as she made her way to the kitchen. She had no idea where some of these had even come from…boy's toys. Little plastic dragons…probably Sho's. Mukai had her own toys and then what had been handed down from her brother and sister…she had too many toys…but that was the least of Tsuchiya's worries. No, now she had to worry about things that she had never thought she'd have to worry about….

And it wasn't even six in the morning yet.

"I have zero clue how to make candy but I do know how to make pancakes, you want those?" asked Shimazaki. He held up a box of pancake mix and shook it. Mukai was on the counter….she had taken her tumbles from there before….and she pushed the box away. She over balanced herself and went tumbling off the edge. Tsuchiya lunged forward to catch her…

Shimazaki was closer.

"Careful. You don't want to have to go and see Fukuda do you?" asked Shimazaki

"No, no Fuck-u-da!" shouted Mukai

"Exactly. Fuck Fukuda." Said Shimazaki

"Fuck! Fuck Fuckuda! Fuck-" said Mukai

"These are wonderful words you're teaching my daughter." Said Tsuchiya as she took Mukai from Shimazaki's arms. Mukai kicked and reached over towards Shimazaki. Her little nails dug into the tattoo on his arms. He didn't seem to notice or care.

"Wonderful words! Wonderful words!" said Mukai as she reached for Shimazaki. He reached over and patted her on the head. Her hair sprung up after he pushed it down…he smiled…and then he kept on doing it.

"She's not a dog." Said Tsuchiya

"Not a dog." Said Mukai

"I know, dog fur isn't this springy." Said Shimazaki. He just…kept it up. Tsuchiya didn't want to read more into this than there was to read into. She didn't know what she was even…well she knew what she was even thinking. He had been close, very close, to Shigeko for a while…but that was just the sort of person he was. He was a pretty touchy feely person and…and she just…she didn't want anything to be true. If it was true then she had something else to worry about…but she should have been putting Mukai first…

Oh. He stopped on his own.

He took his hand out of Mukai's hair and reached up to his cabinet. He felt around, the whole time still facing her. He wasn't looking at her, though, he was looking in his cabinet. She looked away. Mukai was poking at her scar now. She did this sometimes. Tsuchiya thought that she would have been used to it by now. They said that people could get used to just about everything. Tsuchiya figured that there was some truth to that. She had gotten used to pretty much everything about this group now. The fighting, the weird bonding activities, the fact that she was the only adult around. A person could get used to just about everything.

Like being offered vodka at six in the morning.

"You need a drink." Said Shimazaki

"I-I'm fine." Said Tsuchiya

"Are you sure? You're aural output is all….well not freaked out but…stressed out? I mean you're always stressed out but this is worse than normal." Said Shimazaki

"Well it's a little hard not to be stressed out after everything that happened." Said Tsuchiya

"Yeah, it's been a pretty big purge but it's over now. Everyone's dead." Said Shimazaki. There was something to his voice, there, something almost sad. Tsuchiya put Mukai down. She made a beeline for under the table. She'd be in her fort for a while, long enough to let the adults talk at least.

"Who's dead?" asked Tsuchiya. This was Claw. There was a good chance that, yes, everyone was dead. She knew the work they did, the world they lived in, the risks of the job….she didn't know anyone who was in a dangerous posting…but this was Claw. Everything was a dangerous posting when you got down to it….

"Everyone I ever knew…I mean I know a shit ton of people but everyone I grew up with I guess. I don't know. That's just…you want pancakes? I was going to make breakfast. You look like…like you could use some breakfast." Said Shimazaki. He as leaning against the counter, now, and he had his arms crossed in front of himself…defensively. She had no idea why he of all people was being defensive. This was Shimazaki Ryou…he was….

Sad and defensive.

"I'm fine….are you….are you alright?" asked Tsuchiya

"I'm fine, fine, totally fine. Life's good. Good friends, good times, the love of my life is sleeping in their garden…the guy who does my tattoos is dead or in hiding…life's good! It's good….good….good…." said Shimazaki

"I…um….I'm sorry about your friend?" asked Tsuchiya. She kind of…was. That must have been…she knew that there was a purge going on. Some people had shot at Shigeko and now an entire yakuza family or group or whatever the organized themselves into was gone. Tsuchiya hadn't been a part of that, of course, but she'd heard about it….it was bad but….well those people shouldn't have been shooting at Shigeko in the first place.

"It's fine. All things have their time and all things die. Sunrise, sunset. To everything turn, turn, turn." Said Shimazaki with a laugh that she knew that he didn't feel.

"Hey….um…are you alright? I mean if you aren't…then…."said Tsuchiya. She didn't know what she was doing. She knew better, she had been told better by everyone in the house. Don't ever engage with Shimazaki. Don't ever ask him follow up questions. Take no interest in him at all. Maybe Tsuchiya was too….maybe she was in idiot. Maybe she cared too much or not at all or…she didn't know. It was early and there was someone in front of her that was clearly going through some stuff…well of course he was! He had developed feelings for Shigeko…at least that was what everyone said…though Minegishi had said that it wasn't a sex thing…even though Tsuchiya had no idea how that worked….this whole thing was….

She was his friend.

That was it. They had become friends and….and now it dawned on her. Now it had to dawn on her. Right after she got news, was privy to a rumor, that she never wanted to be privy too. Right after she had been told that this man…that he had actual feelings….but not sexual ones. That was…why did that make her feel better? That was just as confusing as everything else…she was getting a headache. That tiny bottle of vodka on the table was actually starting to look good to her….

Mukai was in the room. She had to set a good example for Mukai.

"I'm fine! I'm fine! Never better. I'm fine…." Said Shimazaki

"Alright…it just seems like you might not be. I mean with what you just told me and what everyone says happened between you and…and Shigeko." said Tsuchiya. She braced herself. For some reason, she didn't know why, she expected a normal reaction from him. She expected him to tell her off for even thinking thoughts like that. Instead he just…kept on keeping on with what he had been doing.

Pouring dry pancake mix into a bowl.

"Mob and I are fine. She's not ignoring me, she said so, she's just been busy." Said Shimazaki. He held up the bowl and shook it. She watched him…did he not get it? Or was he just too focused on…on all of that? He was holding the bowl up and shaking it. He frowned and then poured a little more in…which made sense. He couldn't see how much he poured in.

"Right…she's been pretty busy but that's not what I was talking about. I meant…we had this intervention the other day and-" said Tsuchiya

"Yeah, Toshi told me about it. If you guys want to intervene me then just do it, don't go through Toshi. I'm my own man and I can handle whatever you guys can come up with. I have no intention of changing, of course, but you guys can take your shot. Hell, it might even been interesting…nothing's interesting anymore…" muttered Shimazaki as he put the bowl down and then opened the drawer. She reached out to help him but he got the measuring cup on his own…how he could have found it in such a cluttered drawer she would never know. It was always so…so fascinating watching him…but now was not the time for that.

"It just seemed easier to the others I guess to go through Minegishi. You're their boyfriend after all and you listen to them." Said Tsuchiya

"See? You get it. Toshi doesn't think that I listen but I do." Said Shimazaki as he filled the measuring cup with water and dumped it in. He stared at the bowl with his aura and then shook it again.

"I never-" said Tsuchiya

"I mean I listen to them and they listen to me…well they should. I mean it's not a sex thing and I don't know how many times I have to tell them that it isn't." said Shimazaki

"Not a sex thing! Not a sex thing mama!" said Mukai. Tsuchiya didn't react to either of them. If she reacted then Mukai would just keep on saying that same sentence over and over again. Children her age thrived on attention…and so did Shimazaki. The trick to him, she figured, was the same as the trick to Mukai. You just had to treat everything about him like it was perfectly normal and completely unremarkable.

"You're…talking about Shigeko?" asked Tsuchiya

"Of course I am. Who else wouldn't it be a sex thing with? It's just…it's not a sex thing and that's the only reason I can think of for the rest of you completely losing your shit like this….and I wish that the rest of you would find something new to be shocked and appalled over. It's getting boring and I am so fucking sick of being bored." Said Shimazaki as he reached into the cabinet above himself and dragged his fingers over all the labels. She would have asked what he was looking for but he hated that. He hated it when people did things for him…

Though if he wanted to be left alone then he needed to act his age and not Mukai's.

"Not a sex thing! Not a sex thing!" said Mukai

"See? She gets it. I can spend time with someone, I can go out with someone, without trying to fuck them…and if I want to fuck someone then it's not going to be Mob. If I'm going to fuck someone, put the time into pursuing someone, then obviously it's going to be someone who knows what they're doing. Virgins are boring and I cannot do boring right now." Said Shimazaki. Well that was a relief…she felt like a weight had been pulled from her back. She felt like she had just come off of a heavy workout. That was….well he wasn't interested in Shigeko….that was….

That was one less thing that she had to worry about.

"That's….that's good to hear…um….what are you looking for?" asked Tsuchiya

"I can find it myself." Said Shimazaki

"I know you can but I want to help." Said Tsuchiya

"…the chocolate powder….and I swear to God if someone's been fucking with my shit I'm going to-" said Shimazaki as he dug around in the cabinet underneath. Tsuchiya could see what he was looking for, it was right there on the counter. She had no idea where the top was, or why there was a set of chopsticks sticking straight up in it, but she knew where it was.

She handed it to him.

"Here you go." Said Tsuchiya. She knew that he hated it when people treated him like he was helpless…but this was painful to watch and she didn't need any more pain and stress in her life. Taking care of Mukai, the little escape artist that she was, was already giving Tsuchiya gray hair. She didn't need anything else to worry about…so she wouldn't worry about anything else. She would just worry about her daughter…

Her daughter who, once again, decided to pull a vanishing act.

"Oh Mukai…."