Minegishi didn't know how their life had come to this.
"OK, so then they can all get on the giant cat and then….."
Hanging out with a nine year old. Apparently at some point in life THIS had become normal. Well it had been normal for some time now so, really, there was no point at all in bitching about it. They hung out with a kid. Sometimes they had fun together. Even though the only reason Minegishi had joined this stupid organization was to have something to do with their life, something to get rid of the constant malaise that had been their existence. Maybe there was nothing that they could do about the sense of listlessness and boredom that followed them wherever they went. They tried working, drinking, soft drugs, not so soft drugs, sex, regular violence, ultra-violence, joining a cult, and now…whatever this was.
Playtime.
"They can ride the giant cat…if they dare too." Said Minegishi
"What do you mean?" asked Mob. They were playing in Minegishi's room. Sho was home and he was slamming doors and Mob didn't want to be around while he did that. There was nothing that she could do. She knew because she tried to help him calm down the last time he had been slamming doors all day and she ended up getting hit in the face with a door for her trouble. Not something that she wanted to repeat at all.
"Well you did bring a giant dog, Mob, so what if the giant dog were to chase the giant cat? That is in their nature after all." said Minegishi as they picked up Mob's stuffed dog. Playtime wasn't that bad. They had struck a balance between their games. Mob still had her banal slice of divorced princess life and Minegishi still had plenty of executions and torture scenes. He wondered how, exactly, Mob was supposed to be related to Suzuki again. Based on what they did at some of those divisions the game of dystopian princesses should have been right up his alley.
"No, in this world cats and dogs are friends. They came to an agreement after the secret wars of cats and dogs." Said Mob
"Well somebody's been watching movies." Said Minegishi
"You saw that movie too? Do you remember the part where the dog-" said Mob
"Yes. I remember that movie well. It's one of the few my parents had on tape…nothing much else to do…" said Minegishi. Great. Now they were remembering their crappy childhood. They did not want to become one of those adults that spent their entire lives harping on about how bitterly unfair their lives had been. That was not Minegishi. Their life had been a crappy one for a number of years but godlike control over plants and a seat of power once Suzuki managed to take over the world more than made up for the fact that mommy and daddy never loved them.
"You didn't have any brothers or sisters?" asked Mob. She didn't know what she would have done without Sho…when he was nice. Not like how he was now. She could still hear him slamming doors from all the way over at Minegishi's house. She knew that he was her responsibility. She knew that she was supposed to be over there calming him down before dad got home…she just didn't want to be. She didn't want to get hit in the face with a door for her trouble. Besides, he would be fine. Sho was always fine after he got all upset like this. Sho was always fine in general. Minegishi said that the only one she had to worry about was herself…which made zero sense since people needed other people that was why they has friends and families and stuff, but she wasn't going to argue. She liked being here…and not just because of what Minegishi had in the drawer behind them.
Though she was kind of thirsty.
"I don't like to talk about my childhood." Said Minegishi. The only thing worse than thinking about it was talking about it. The only person who knew that full story, as much of the full story as Minegishi was willing to tell, was Shimazaki and that was only because he wouldn't shut up about their scars. Mob wasn't even ten years old yet, she was nine and a HALF at most, and that was way too young to get even the abridged version of the terribly childhood of Minegishi Toshiki.
"Why?" asked Mob. She wanted to know what they were like when they were a kid. Did they play with dolls? Or toy animals? Or action figures? Or did they like to draw? Or did they spend a lot of time outside since they had plant control powers? There were inside plants all around them. Was this what their room was like when they were a kid? Mob wanted to know, she needed to know, and she didn't know why she needed to know just that she needed to know. Dad almost never talked about when he was a kid and Mob…she wished that she had been able to ask mom back when she still had…had a mom to ask…
"Because it sucked. It sucked about as bad, if not worse, than yours. Really it depends on how often your dad hits you." Said Minegishi. That was maybe not the thing to say. This was a nine year old sitting in front of them. A nine year old in her stupid princess dress with that stupid cat ears headband on. This was a kid who still played with dolls and watched cartoons and still believed in dreams and the power of friendship and true love's kiss and all of that. She didn't know better than to pry. She just wasn't there yet and it wasn't like she had anyone in her life to teach her basic social skills. This was just a kid and they were being an asshole, as usual, and that was wrong.
Be nice, Toshiki.
"My dad hardly ever hits me. Well he mostly just hits Sho. Dad just sort of pushes me or drags me by my braids. It's not so bad. He hardly ever punishes me at all. Not since I asked to go back to the old house. That was wrong of me though. We aren't supposed to talk about our old life with mom because she betrayed us by leaving…and that wasn't right." Said Mob. She didn't think of her mom as a traitor even though she knew that she was supposed to. Dad did, though, and if he decided that she was a traitor then she was…because she had just left them like it was nothing….but Mob couldn't just think of her own mom like that….because she loved her mom even if she was gone somewhere far away….
"I'm sorry." Said Minegishi. The words tasted bitter in their mouth. An apology. They owed Mob an apology. They didn't like to apologize but they had to. Maybe they wouldn't have if Mob had been older but she as only nine so, therefore, she was owed an apology.
"About what?" asked Mob. She couldn't think of anything that Minegishi had done that would have earned her an 'I'm sorry'. She thought harder and then even harder still and came up with nothing at all that Minegishi had to be sorry about.
"I was an asshole back there. So I'm sorry." Said Minegishi
"You were? I don't think that you were being a….that word." Said Mob
"Well I was, ok? I was and you are way too young to deal with me being an asshole to you like that." Said Minegishi. They wished that she would just take the apology. This was such a rare thing. Mob had a better chance of catching a tsuchinoko, seeing a unicorn, and getting genuine praise from her father all in one day than she had to Minegishi prying an apology out of themselves again.
"Um….ok. I don't know what you're apologizing for but ok." Said Mob. The plants beside Minegishi, those were called spider plants, began to turn a sort of yellowish color. Mob reached out with her powers and made them green again. The poor plants didn't deserve that and Minegishi didn't deserve to see their plants die. They cared so much about their plants. Every time they moved Minegishi made the plants really small for easy travel so they wouldn't get hurt even though there were new plants everywhere on Earth that they could have made friends with. Well aside from the poles but there weren't any Claw bases on the poles. Dad said that it just wasn't cost effective.
"…I need a drink." Said Minegishi. They were not going to have it out over an apology that Mob should have known that she was owed. The world was going to chew that kid up and spit her back out. That was what the world did to people who were sweet like that. Sweetness and goodness wouldn't get Mob very far at all, especially not in a place like Claw, and Minegishi did not want to think about that. Hence the ill-advised day drinking.
"Can I have some too?" asked Mob as Minegishi got up and went to their dresser drawers. They dug around for a little bit. Mob could hear the clank of glass on glass as well as what sounded like someone shaking up a tin of mints. That was because there had been a tin of mints in the drawer. Now they were on top of the dresser along with a bottle of something clear with a label in a language that Mob couldn't read.
"Fine, one capful, and nothing more." Said Minegishi. At some point they had started Mob down a river of sin. They weren't ruining her life, though, that was something that they made sure to remember. They were not ruining this kid's life. They had been going much harder when they had been only a year or so older than her. So, really, Mob's life was not at all in danger of being ruined.
"Thank you." Said Mob. She wanted more than one capful. One capful made her feel happy, sort of silly, but two would make her feel all calm and relaxed. Three would make her sort of sleepy. She didn't much want to be sleepy, just relaxed, because eventually she would have go home and Sho would still be upset and he would probably still be slamming doors and then dad would be upset at her for letting Sho be upset all day and also for letting Sho slam doors and he hated loud sounds like that and she was supposed to be watching him because she was the big sister and he was the little brother and it was he big sister's job to take care of the little brother and-
Something was pressed into her hand.
Minegishi drank straight out of the bottle. Mob knew that there wouldn't be any germs. They had explained it to her before. That burning that she tasted was germs dying because of how high the alcohol content was. The higher the alcohol content the more germs that died. So really this was good for her. Even if it did burn her mouth and throat going down. Not as bad as before, though, but she did prefer to mix it with something. She wondered how Minegishi could stand to drink so much. They were drinking straight from the bottle and that looked like it was way more than one capful…not that Mob was going to say anything. Of course it wasn't fair. Minegishi was an adult and they could drink as much as they wanted because this stuff was for adults. Mob was the only kid in that house. Sho was next door at their house, well the house that they were staying in, and Mob was at the house that Minegishi and Shimazaki stayed in. She was the only kid there and she was not in charge and she wasn't going to ask for more even though she really wanted more….
"I told you already, Mob, that's all I'm giving you." Said Minegishi. Mob was staring at them. She was worse than Shimazaki and he was nothing but staring. He stared with his aura since he had no eyes. Even when he was rooms and rooms away, like now, he was still staring. They could feel him watching them…and he was probably just waiting for Mob to go home. Yes, that was it. He just wanted her to ditch the kid so they could have some good old fashioned adult fun. Well if that was what he wanted then they hoped that he had made himself comfortable because it was going to be a long day.
"I know. I didn't say anything." Said Mob. How did they know what she was thinking? For a moment Mob wonders if they can read minds….but that was a very rare power. Dad had said so. That was why he didn't have any telepaths even though they would have been very useful.
"Not with your words, no, but your eyes told the whole story. You get one capful and that's it, ok? I am not trying to ruin your life here." Said Minegishi
"How would you be ruining my life if you let me have more? I don't understand." Said Mob. Adults were always talking about doing things for your own good. Didn't they get it? Mob may have been young but she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. She knew what was good for her. She didn't need someone else telling her what was good for her.
"Mob, don't make me get into-" said Minegishi. They did not want to get into childhood alcoholism and their first hand experiences with it. They were in no mood whatsoever to get into the tale of woe that is their childhood. They were not in any mood at all to-
"Where's the tea?! Minegishi, where'd you put it?"
Speaking of being in no mood at all.
"Shimazaki wants to know where the tea is." Said Mob in case Minegishi didn't notice. At least he was yelling through the wall and not teleporting right in the middle of their game like he usually did. That was good. Mob wasn't much of a fan of yelling, it made her heart beat funny and her lungs work extra hard, but she was even less of a fan of Shimazaki. She had no idea why Minegishi wanted to be friends with him…but then again she didn't understand a lot of things about other people.
"I know. I can hear him. I'm thinking." Said Minegishi. Crap. They had moved it. They were only living with Shimazaki because…because it was just easier. They both had to be near the Suzuki family so it made sense to live together…and it had nothing to do with Minegishi wanting him around or anything like that. Because they didn't. He was annoying as all else. Like now. Couldn't he find it himself? Well, no, actually, because of the whole not being able to see thing…..
"Minegishi is thinking!" called Mob through the wall. She wondered how Shimazaki made tea without being able to see. She wondered how he did a lot of things without being able to see. Like getting dressed in the morning. His clothes always matched even though he had no idea what colors were. She wondered if Minegishi helped him with that. That made sense. Maybe that was why Minegishi lived with him. Mob couldn't imagine any other reason why they would ever even want to.
"Tell them to think harder!" said Shimazaki
"I'll just look for it myself." Said Minegishi. This was kind of their fault…not that they would ever admit it. No, that would be letting him win and if they let him win he would never let it go. Minegishi couldn't have that. They were working together for the foreseeable future and they were not going to sit there and hear every day a thousand times a day about the time that they moved the tea. No, they'd go completely insane. So, really, the only thing to do would be to go and look for it themselves…and also they did have an advantage when it came to looking for the tea on their own….because they actually could look….
They would see themselves out.
"Bye." Said Mob as Minegishi left their room. Now Mob was all alone…and she knew that she had to stay put. She needed to stay put right there on the floor with her toys…and that was what she was going to do. Even if her eyes kept on going up to the bottle that Minegishi had on their dresser. Even though she was sure that they wouldn't miss another capful or two. Even though she was sure that she wouldn't drink that much…and Minegishi always shared so maybe this was….it would be like sharing before the sharing happened.
What was wrong?
Mob felt like maybe that was wrong. Minegishi did say, over and over again, that they did not plan on ruining Mob's life…not that she had any idea how this would be ruining her life. Minegishi hadn't told her how this would be ruining her life…so maybe it wouldn't. Mob didn't think that it would. She could take care of herself. That was what she had been doing since she had been little. Taking care of herself and Sho. If she could be trusted to take care of another human being then she could be trusted to take care of herself…..
She drank another capful.
She drank from the bottle…which was more than a capful. She knew because she ended up choking just a little and spitting some of it out…all on her dress. Not that much but….but now she smelled like she had been…and then Minegishi would be so…and she didn't want…
She saw a tin of mints.
So of course she ate one. Even though Minegishi had never offered to share those….well she was already in this deep. Besides, they wouldn't miss one single insignificant little mint now would they? And besides, better she smelled like mint than drinking. She took it in her mouth and bit down…and then tried her best not to spit it out.
Bitter!
That was not a mint. Mints tasted minty. That tasted bitter….the most bitter thing that she had ever had…but she chewed and swallowed. She washed it down with the milk she carried around with her everywhere. She maybe should have mixed…but that was neither here nor there. She sat back down and pretended to be normal. Even though there was a super bitter taste in her mouth. Even though she suddenly felt…weird. Very weird. She could see her aura…and it was being all…she picked up a doll with her powers. Too hard. It hit the ceiling. Her powers weren't listening right then. That wasn't weird…not too weird. Her powers had never been the best at listening.
She heard the door open.
She could feel Minegishi's aura. She felt…nice. It was nice that her friend was near. She smiled and leaned back…a little too much. She caught herself with her powers before she could hit the ground. Well she tried to. She managed to just a bit before she ended up flat on her back.
"Come on, enough of that." Said Minegishi. They picked Mob up. How could one capful do that? Well this was a kid, a nine year old, and maybe nine year olds were not meant to drink. Maybe they were just a terrible influence and in ten years Mob would track them down and blame them for the horrible path her life was taking.
"Thanks." Said Mob. She felt…she felt like the time she and Sho had tried to sleep like bats. When they had laid down and with their feet up on their beds and their heads on the floor….and then they tried to sleep like that…and they had both gotten so light headed….
"Come on, let's get back to it. Where were we?" asked Minegishi. They didn't want to deal with anything besides playing dolls. Not the fact that they had been such an inconsiderate asshole moving things around in the kitchen…and not that they were ruining an innocent kid's life….not about the sad, sad, tale of their life…none of that. No, they were going to focus on playing dolls.
So they tried to.
But they couldn't. They couldn't focus because Mob couldn't focus. She was…she was not being normal. That had not been one capful. Maybe Minegishi needed to start marking the levels on their liquor bottles….no. No way. Mob would not have…..well someone had been getting into their liquor…and that somebody was probably Shimazaki. The man had no concept of boundaries or personal space or anything like that. Yeah, it was him who had been stealing from her…not Mob.
Even if Mob was being kind of…weird.
"Mob. Hey! Mob!" said Minegishi. They snapped their fingers in front of Mob's face. She didn't even open her eyes. She had…it looked like she had fallen asleep sitting up. Minegishi's eyes went back up to the top of their dresser. That little…she had better not have….
"Oh….hi. Hi Minegishi. Hello." Said Mob as she forced her eyes opened. She just wanted to sleep. She just wanted to close her eyes and sleep…and also eat. Sleep and eat. Sleep…that sounded wonderful….
"Yeah, hi, welcome to the land of the living." Said Minegishi. Mob nodded. She closed her eyes again. Minegishi snapped their fingers and shook her. This was…not normal. This was not normal at all.
"Hi…" said Mob. She had trouble keeping her eyes opened. She was…she wanted to sleep. She let herself fall forward until she was resting against Minegishi. They were so soft. They smelled good. Like dirt. Dirt and plants and also fabric softener.
"Yeah, hey! Open your eyes! This isn't a hotel!" said Minegishi. Mob had collapsed against them…and now they could smell it. Mob smelled like a liquor store had exploded. Wonderful. Ok, so they had ruined Mob's life…ok then. Mob was drunk…very drunk. They had no idea how drunk was very drunk. At least she wasn't vomiting…oh God. Nope. None of that. They were not the sort of friends who vomited on one another.
"I…I'm tired." Said Mob as she buried her face in Minegishi's shirt. They were so warm and soft. Mob reached her arms around Minegishi and tried to pull them into a hug. They were just so warm and soft…the warmest and the softest. Warm hugs were the best. She used to get a lot of hugs…when she was little. The hugs were warm then too. They were warm and soft and smelled like cinnamon. This was a good hug, too.
"No, you're drunk. You are drunk off your ass right now, Mob." Said Minegishi as they tried to get their personal space back. Slowly, very slowly, because whether they liked to think about it or not Mob was the second most powerful esper alive and she didn't always have good control at the very best of times, either.
"I like warm hugs." Said Mob. The hug was over now. Now she was feeling cold. Now she was feeling cold and she wanted the hug to go on forever…and she wanted to close her eyes…and sleep. Sleep sounded just so wonderful….
"I know you do, I know." Said Minegishi as the managed to slowly pull Mob off of them. Her eyes were closed again. Sleeping. This was….this was ok. If she had alcohol poisoning then she would have been throwing up. She was just tired…and that was fine. She just needed a nap, that was all.
"You're my best friend." Said Mob as she reached out towards Minegishi again. There was a hand on her chest pushing her away. She leaned into it until it was the only thing keeping her up.
"Mob, how much did you drink?" asked Minegishi
"Milk….I like to drink milk…" said Mob
"Yes, I know you love milk. Everyone knows you love milk. That's not what I'm asking. You had way more than what I gave you. How much?" asked Minegishi doing their best not to sound mad…even though they kind of were. Mob should not have been stealing from them in the first place and she should not have been drinking to the point of passing out. She was gone, now, and that was….Minegishi had tried so hard to teach her moderation!
"I'm sorry….drank from the bottle….stole a mint…so sorry….still be my friend…" said Mob. She was putting all of her weight on their hand. She just wanted to close her eyes for a little bit. She just…she was very tired, the most tired, so incredibly tired…like the time she and Sho had stayed up all night to watch the sun come up.
"Mint….what are you…oh no." said Minegishi. They laid Mob down on the floor and went up to their dresser. They never counted these…and they maybe should have….but they never expected that a kid would have gone through their things and…and didn't everyone ever teach her not to go through other people things? Seriously? Well obviously not because her father had better things to do than parent his offspring, obviously, but still!
"Not very…minty." Said Mob as she rolled over onto her side. This was the most comfortable she had ever been in her entire life. This was the best floor with the best carpeting and the warmest room and she had the best friend ever and everything was so nice…this was all so nice…and she just needed…just for a minute…
"Hey, hey, stay with me. How many did you eat?" asked Minegishi. This could have been bad. As in accidentally killing a kid bad. They had killed people before but never kids. This was…well there was that healer…who was also apparently Suzuki's bestest buddy for all time…and there was no way Fukuda would keep quiet about this. He'd tell Suzuki and then Suzuki would, literally, kill them. He'd done it before. There was no way to have clean hands and run Claw at the same time…and Minegishi may not have had the greatest life but they did not want to die.
"One…" said Mob. She turned and faced the other direction. She just wanted to sleep. How hard was that to understand? She was tired…and kind of hungry….and she just wanted to close her eyes and get some sleep….
"Ok….that's not so bad. It's not…not so bad. You're young…you have a good metabolism. You're going to be fine. Just….whatever you do don't stop breathing." Said Minegishi. They put their hand on Mob's back to make sure that she was still breathing. She was…she was breathing. That was good. If she was breathing then she was alive. Just…
Inhale.
Exhale.
Inhale.
Exhale.
This kid was not going to die. Minegishi had mixed Xanax and liquor loads of times and hadn't ever once…but Minegishi was a grown adult. This was just a little nine year old kid. This may have been the most powerful esper in the world but this was still a nine year old girl…but she was going to be fine. Minegishi didn't know how they were going to assure her being fine but she was going to be fine. She had to be…
There was a shift in the energy around them.
"Whoa. Did you kill the kid?" asked Shimazaki as he decided to see what had Minegishi's aura all anxious. Even though they knew full well not to bother Minegishi when they and the kid were hanging out in Toyland.
"No! I did not kill her…she just got into something that she shouldn't have. That's all. Now either help or go away." said Minegishi. They were not at all in the mood to deal with this. They had one thing to deal with and that was more than enough.
"She smells like a liquor store." Said Shimazaki. It was…strange….seeing someone so powerful being so vulnerable. Not that he was going to do anything. Another person might have been more unscrupulous. After all that was the second most powerful esper in the world and the daughter of the most powerful. That kid was also the dumbest esper in the world in so many ways. But hey, he didn't care, not his kid not his problem.
"And you think that you smell any better?" asked Minegishi with a shake of their head.
"At least I don't smell like I just got through with a week long bender." Said Shimazaki
"I've smelled you after a bender. It's very similar." Said Minegishi
"Like you can even remember the last one." said Shimazaki. It'd been a while since they had fun, actual fun, and he missed it…though they were not taking that kid along. Even if it seemed like she was starting to get a little ahead of herself. This was why he didn't have any kids. He knew that he'd end up royally fucking them up. Also the lifelong responsibility of caring for another human being. He wasn't much up for that either.
"If you think that you can remember our last one then you're deluding yourself." Said Minegishi.
"Hey, I have very clear memories of Prague." Said Shimazaki
"So you remember the singing?" asked Minegishi
"I remember it was well received." Said Shimazaki
"Yeah, you don't remember Prague." Said Minegishi
"Do too." Said Shimazaki. He knew that he sounded like a kid there. He could see, sort of, Minegishi smiling. It was easier to see the amusement in their aura than to watch for the minute movement of their face. The kid was still passed out. Still alive. Heart was still beating, lungs were still inhaling and exhaling, eyes moving behind her eye lids. The kid wasn't dead that was what mattered. Suzuki…he wouldn't have taken it well if it turned out that one of his kids was dead.
"Uh-huh, what about Cabo?" asked Minegishi
"When were we in Cabo? Recently I mean…or ever actually…." asked Shimazaki
"After Prague but before Sidney." Said Minegishi
"Fine, you win. It's an empty space after Prague." Said Shimazaki. He poked the kid a couple times with his aura. She was alive…which was good. He wondered what Suzuki did to people who accidentally.
"Shimazaki, can you go back to whatever is it that you were doing? I've got to deal with…this." said Minegishi as they kept their hand on Mob's back. Inhale. Exhale. Still alive…and she was going to stay alive. She was not going to die and…and she was not going to end up describing this to a therapist in ten years either.
"What even is 'this'? I mean she smells like she's drunk-" said Shimazaki
"She is drunk. She's drunk and she got into my pills." Said Minegishi. That was not their fault, not really, because it was not their job to teach Mob not to go through people's stuff or to take medicine that was not prescribed for her…or purchased by her through several less than totally legal means.
"Why'd you get her drunk?" asked Shimazaki. He had always wondered what would happen if you got a kid drunk…but to actually go off and do it. Part of him expected better from Minegishi…but part of him also wanted to know just what would happen to the kid.
"I didn't get her drunk I gave her one capful. She took it upon herself to get drunk." Said Minegishi. What did he take them for? Of course they did not set out to do this. They had better things to do with their time than get nine year olds drunk. Literally anything else was a better use of their time.
"Ok…but then why'd you give her pills, too? I mean yeah I've thought about it, getting a kid messed up just to see what would happen, but it's not like I've ever gone and done it." Said Shimazaki. If they were getting kids messed up he had some acid somewhere. That would have been a hell of a lot safer than this.
"I didn't 'give' her anything. She got into my stuff. I don't even know what goes in that head of hers." Said Minegishi. What, did he think that they were some kind of idiot? No, of course they didn't give Mob anything. What was even the matter with him?! That was something that he was more likely to think was a good idea. He was Mr. 'We have this vial of acid let's dose babies to see what would happen'. Nothing good would happen! Obviously giving acid to babies was a bad idea and getting kids drunk was a bad idea! Everything was a bad idea!
"You want me to take her to a hospital or something? I mean I know what you carry around-" said Shimazaki. Yup. That was one soon to be dead kid. Well they were fucked. Suzuki was not going to take that well. Maybe if his son had gotten himself into this mess but not his daughter. Nope, there was no way that Suzuki was just going to let the death of his favorite kid go.
"Hell no. Suzuki would literally kill us both. No hospitals." Said Minegishi. How were they even going to explain it? Just walk up and go 'hey, can you fix this kid up? She mixed liquor and Xanax on my watch and now I'm afraid that she's never going to wake up again. Oh, and keep it to yourself. I'm part of this weird cult that trying to take over the world and stuff and my boss is kind of touchy about who knows about us. Please and thank you!' or something like that?
"I can go grab that healer guy. I mean….this is kind of…not good." Said Shimazaki. The kid was downright terrifying, her existence, but he didn't want her dead. He watched her breathing. Was it slowing down? Or speeding up? God damn it now he was getting himself all anxious. He never had these problems before. Nope, he never had to deal with shit like this.
"You know that as soon as he heals her up he'll go running to Suzuki…speaking of, why aren't you trailing after our fearless leader?" asked Minegishi. Their eyes darted to their bedroom door as if Suzuki would let himself in at any minute…which to be fair was something that he would have been fully within his rights to do since his kid stood a good chance of being in real danger.
"He told me to bring his kid home and then leave him. I strongly suspect that he doesn't like me." Said Shimazaki
"I have no idea why he would feel that way. I really, truly, don't." said Minegishi
"Yeah, well, he's going to dislike you even more than he dislikes me when he realizes that his kid died on your watch." Said Shimazaki
"Shut up already. She's not going to die. She just needs to sleep it off. That's all, she's just got to sleep it off." Said Minegishi. They were no healer. They had no clue if that was what she needed. She was breathing, her heart rate felt normal…but they had no idea what normal felt like for a kid…but this was fine. She was fine. If she stopped breathing they'd…toss her into a cold bath? They didn't know.
"I'll make her a bed on the couch then." Said Shimazaki. They needed to do something. There was no reason to do anything, this wasn't his problem it was Minegishi's, but him not doing anything…he was getting a caged in feeling and he needed to do something. Besides, Toshi needed him. Toshi had all but acknowledged that they needed him and this was a rare thing. The more he helped now the more he could rub it in their face later.
"Sure, whatever. Tell yourself that you're helping." Said Minegishi. They had no clue what they were supposed to do. This was not a good feeling, the powerlessness, and they did not like it. They hadn't felt this powerless since they were small, as small as Mob was right then, and they didn't like it…but there was nothing that they could do. Nothing that they could do without getting themselves killed.
So they put her on the couch.
They put her on the couch and they put the TV on and they waited for her to wake up. She never stopped breathing, at least, and her heart never stopped. Jabbing her in the side could wake her temporarily. That was a good sign. That meant that she was…ok. She was ok and that was what mattered. Minegishi couldn't get mad at her…yet. It would be different when she woke up.
Because this was her fault.
Not Minegishi's. Mob was the one who had done so many stupid things….things that even at her age she should have known were stupid! You were not supposed to steal. You were not supposed to go off and drink and take medicine that was not prescribed to her…or purchased by her. She was just a kid and she should not have…this was her fault!
"This is your fault, you know. You got yourself into this state, not me." Said Minegishi as they sat down beside her. The TV was on but neither of them was watching it. They watched Mob. They kept a hand on her back to make sure that she was still breathing. That was all that they could do.
They hated feeling powerless.
"I mean, you should know better. You're almost ten you know. You should know better than do just go and-ugh! I can't even right now." Said Minegishi. Mob stirred. She didn't wake but she stirred. That was a good sign. She wasn't dead…and of course she wasn't dead. She was made of tougher stuff than that…right?
"When I say that you only get one capful then I mean it. I get it, your life sucks, but that is no reason to go off and steal from me. You get it? Stealing is wrong. You should know that by now." Said Minegishi. Mob didn't stir again. She was still deep asleep. Of course she was. It hadn't been long enough for her to wake up…if she was ever going to wake up….
"Or maybe you don't. Did anyone ever teach you that stealing is wrong? Did anyone ever teach you anything? I know your dad….well I don't KNOW him but I guess that I know him about as well as any of us truly can know him….so I guess that he never sat you down and told you not to drink or steal or take random pills…" said Minegishi. There was more silence between them. The silence stretched on. Something was on the TV, some kid's show, but neither of them was watching it. This stupid kid…this stupid kid trusted them….this was not Minegishi's fault! They didn't go off and tell Mob to be stupid enough to-to-to-
Monkey see, money do.
"I mean it can be fun, taking random pills, but not for you. Not at your age. You get it? When you grow up then you can take all the random pills you want. Hell, I'll even babysit you while you figure yourself out…but not now! Can you just….can you just be a kid for once in your life? Can you? Just because you see me doing something that does not make it ok for you to do it too! I am an adult! My mistakes are my own, ok? If I want to go around messing with my brain chemistry then it's my freedom as an adult to do so. You're just a kid…and you're not even my kid…you know. You aren't my kid but here I am worried out of my mind…" said Minegishi. They sighed. Mob turned. Now her back was to the TV. At least she was still moving. She'd be fine…probably. She'd have a big chunk of missing time, and she would probably wake up ravenously hungry in a few hours, but she would be fine. Minegishi knew from experience….adult experience…well more like teenage experience. Not nine year old experience….that was the important thing…but how much different was it really? Weren't kids supposed to be resilient or something? Plus she was just as powerful as an adult….so she would be fine…it stood to reason that she would be fine…
"I'm pretty sure that he can't hear you." Said Shimazaki popping in from nothing to sit beside them. Minegishi glared at him. The effect, of course, was lost.
"Make yourself useful and tell me how her heart beats doing." Said Minegishi
"Normal. Well normal for a sleeping person. Stop making yourself crazy, Toshi, she's fine. If she hasn't stopped breathing yet then she won't stop breathing anything soon." Said Shimazaki
"You don't know that." Said Minegishi
"Yeah, you're right, I don't. I'm just sitting here telling you what you want to hear. What I really think is that the second you let your guard down she's going to stop breathing and then you'll be in for it. Me too because I'm involved now." Said Shimazaki
"Well at least you're being honest with me…and call me Toshi again. I dare you." Said Minegishi
"I won't just because I feel like being contrary right now." Said Shimazaki
"Well can you go be contrary somewhere else. I have to keel vigil over this kid until she either wakes up or I have to go into hiding for the rest of my life." Said Minegishi
"Alright, alright, I know when I'm not wanted. I just came by to tell you that I told her brother that she was having a sleepover with you tonight. You know, so you don't end up having to explain to Suzuki what happened to his kid. I figure that she'll be out until tomorrow at least anyway. So you may thank me later." Said Shimazaki
"…later never comes, you know. It's like tomorrow. Always a day away." said Minegishi. They were grateful, really, but if they showed it then they would never be able to live it down.
"Well what is today but yesterday's tomorrow?" asked Shimazaki before he popped out of existence so Minegishi could have some space.
"I didn't know that they made brail fortune cookies…and he's gone. Great. He got the last word. Thanks a lot, Mob." Said Minegishi. They weren't mad at her, not really, even though they had every right to be. She had been the one to get herself into this state. Sure she had watched Minegishi get themselves into a similar state time after time but…well the phrase went 'monkey see, monkey do' and all of that but Mob was not a monkey. She was a human being. A kid. A human kid.
And also the human kid that Minegishi was somewhat responsible for.
They hadn't wanted this, being responsible for another human being, that was why they planned on never having kids. Too much to worry about. They wanted more out of life, more excitement, but having a kid was not the thing to do. Despite their feelings they were now somewhat responsible for another human being…and they had done a piss poor job of it. Now they had to stay up all night making sure that this kid ended up waking up…
Something which was kind of their fault.
This was why they didn't want a kid. They had known Mob not even a year and they had already managed to mess her life up. Not that she was the brightest bulb in the bunch if she thought that any of what she had done was a good idea….but then again she was a kid and kids were not known for their reasoning skills. Some adult never even developed reasoning skills. The apple didn't fall far from the tree. She could see little Suzuki being stupid enough to do this. Being so assured of his own invincibility that he would be dumb enough to do…this. Yeah, they could see that. Like father like daughter…
Even though she really was nothing like her father.
She wasn't that much like Suzuki when it came down to it. She was a hell of a lot nicer than he was and a hell of a lot more pleasant to be around. Plus she had tried to make friends. She hadn't just started ordering them around…and she had the potential to be such a brat. Nobody was raising her to be anything other than a brat. Hell! Nobody was RAISING her at all. Poor kid. No wonder she went and did something so transparently stupid.
Something that Minegishi should have stopped her from doing in the first place.
At some point their life had come to this…being a terrible role model to the offspring of the most powerful man on Earth.
Whatever. It could have been worse.