Mob owned a lot of costumes.

Most of her clothes were costumes. Elsa, Anna, Aurora, Cinderella, Tiana, Ariel, Belle, they were all her costumes and her day to day clothes. Pretty dresses that she wore because…well because she liked them. She liked the sparkly parts and the way the fabric felt and also that she could look like the people, well characters, from her favorite movies too. She had other costumes. Every year on her birthday, and also just because, dad had these really pretty kimonos made for her…and they were ok. They were pretty but also really hard to move around in and she wasn't the best at tying them properly even with her powers and YouTube tutorials. They were warm and heavy and hard to play in….they felt more like costumes than her actual costumes.

This felt more like a costume than her actual costume.

She was in real clothes for once. She had tried to dress like dad. Her shirt was white and had buttons and her skirt was dark blue and her sweater was dark blue and she was even wearing a dark blue ribbon around her neck. She had left her cat ears headband at home, too, and she had let her hair down. It was loose, now, and she almost never had it loose. She even slept in her braids sometimes. But she could not have her hair in braids, now, because she had to look grown up.

She had to look like dad.

Even her shoes were like his. Real shoes. Dark brown and shiny. Not made of plastic. They didn't light up when she walked and there wasn't a single one of her characters on them. She felt…she felt like she was wearing a 'dad' costume even though he dressed much more grown up than she did. Also he always wore suits, not skirts and sweaters, but she did not want to wear pants. That would have been too much. Even her tights were annoying. She hated the way her legs felt trap and the waistband dug into her hips and the seam pressed between her legs. So annoying. But she had to dress nice, like dad, because today she had to be dad.

Dad wasn't back yet.

She had said tomorrow because she had wanted, maybe, to give dad some time to come back. She had gone to be that night praying that he came back and she would find him in the house in the morning ready to yell at her and pull her hair or worse for the bad job that she had done. Even if he had been mad at her for doing a bad job, even though in her opinion she had been doing a very good job, it would have been better than waking up to an empty house and a missing dad.

Mukai had woken up three times that night and all three of those times dad hadn't been there when she checked for him.

He was gone…but he was coming back. He hadn't run away like mom had. Dad would not have run away from Claw. Claw was his life's work. He would not have just left…like he had. He must have been on a very important mission. That was also why he had taken Fukuda with him. Because the mission was important and dangerous and…and he had left Shimazaki and Shibata behind…but maybe he didn't need bodyguards where he was going…but then why take the healer? Maybe he just…wanted his kids to be safe. Yes, that was it. He wanted his kids to be safe so he left them with his bodyguards….

Though she really did wish that dad had taken Shimazaki with him.

"Come on, President Suzuki. Address your people." Said Shimazaki. They were in the place where dad made his speeches. He made them to all the newly Awakened, when something big happened, or to raise moral. That was what Mob was going to have to do. Raise moral. Raise moral and tell people what to do. She was…she was going to do this.

She didn't want to be there.

"I'm not President Suzuki. I'm Miss Suzuki. Suzuki-san, not Suzuki-sama." Said Mob. She could see a mass of auras all mixed up. She had been able to see it since she teleported into this HQ. She could hear them all talking…and shouting….and crying…and also some people were singing. Dad really meant a lot to them. They were freaking out because he was gone.

She was not dad.

"Well right now you're Suzuki-sama to all of those people out there. The entire division is losing their collective shit because your dad is gone and, honestly, it's getting kind of boring. So go out there and do your best and all of that other pep talk crap. Remember, if you fuck this up Claw's going to fall apart and your father's life's work will be in ruins and you'll have set his cause back by decades." Said Shimazaki. Mob had no idea how she was supposed to feel better after he had said all of that. She could feel her hair floating away behind her. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest.

He was right, if she messed up she was in for it.

Not in for it like how dad would probably drag her by her hair and push her and stuff. No, in for it like…like what dad did to Sho…or even worse. Then when he was done with her he would move on to Sho…and she didn't want that for him. She wanted him to be safe and ok. She wanted him to be happy. She hoped that he was happy. She had left Mukai with him, and Minegishi and Shibata promised to help out, but she still should have been there.

She was the girl. She should have been home with the baby. He was the boy. He should have been running Claw.

"You-you really aren't making me feel better." Said Mob. She took a step back. She was supposed to walk through those curtains and out onto the balcony and tell the whole division that everything was going to be ok…and she didn't know if she could. She was bad at talking and she had no idea how she was supposed to talk to the whole division and she had no idea how to make them feel like everything was going to be ok when she had no idea if it was all going to be ok…and they were all so freaked out…and some of them were even crying…and they were crying out for dad….

And she just…wasn't her dad.

"Just think about how everyone out there is going to be hanging on your every word. The whole division…actually you hear that? That would be the drones. Every division is going to turn out to hear your address, madam President, and doesn't that just fill you with confidence? Don't you feel like you could just take on the whole world?" asked Shimazaki

"No. Of course it doesn't. You know that it doesn't. You can tell that I'm scared…and I don't know why you're scaring me. You're the one who was so scared of losing his job that-" said Mob

"I like watching your mini freak outs, Suzuki, your aura is….interesting…when you're panicking internally. Don't get me wrong you freaking out externally is terrifying but you freaking out internally is entertaining." Said Shimazaki

"That's mean." Said Mob. She did not understand how Minegishi could have been friends with, let alone best friends with, let alone KISSED a guy like this. They could do so much better. Even Shibata would have been a better best friend/person to kiss for fun sometimes and he gave the worst hugs in the world. Not that Mob was going to tell her best friend, best non sibling friend, that their taste in boys was terrible. That would not have been nice at all.

Minegishi would probably have had something nicer to say to her.

They would have said something like 'you can't mess this up any more than it already is' and 'you're a Suzuki so go out there and act like it' or 'just go out there and do your job so you don't end up making extra work for me' or something like that. They were always very good at making her feel better. They said what they meant and meant what they said but they were never mean about it. They were like a cactus. They couldn't help being prickly but they were good on the inside…though Mob wasn't about to cook and eat them because that would have been cannibalism and cannibalism was wrong in their society and most others.

"Is not. There are much meaner things that I could have said to you." Said Shimazaki

"Well I don't want to hear them. I'm nervous enough as it is. You can hear people's heartbeats and stuff. You know how nervous I am. Please don't make me any more nervous than I already am." Said Mob

"Hey, you're making yourself nervous, Suzuki. That's all you. I'm just fanning the flames and shit." Said Shimazaki

"But why? You know what happens when I explode." Said Mob. Was that just how boys were for eternity? Sho made her mad for no reason sometime too…but Sho was little. Did boys just stay little forever? Well not dad but he wasn't like most boys, he had even said so, so did that mean that most boys stayed the same since being kids? Or was Shimazaki just an annoying person like Minegishi was always saying?

"I'm not trying to get you to explode. Your aura is just interesting when you're like this. It sounds interesting and it feels interesting." Said Shimazaki

"Stop listening to and feeling my aura." Said Mob. She felt…not good…at the thought of him feeling her aura. She wasn't sure if he could stop listening to her aura too…but he might not have been able to stop that….even though auras didn't make sounds at all.

"I kind of can't. Believe me, if I could shut out the world I would, but I can't." said Shimazaki

"Well can you leave me alone then? I'm trying to calm down so I can go out there and talk to everyone but I can't calm down with you bothering me." Said Mob

"No can do. I promised Toshi that I would guard you with my life…and also I feel like your dad would consider me a traitor if I let anything happen to you and I know what he does to traitors. I'll give you a hint, it's worse than what he does to people who talk during meetings. A hell of a lot worse." Said Shimazaki

"Um….I'm sorry that you're worried about my dad punishing you but…but you really are bothering me and I would like you to stop so I can…can figure out what I'm going to…do. What I'm going to say to all of those people out there." said Mob. Well now she felt bad. She shouldn't have told him to go away. Now he was both worried about what dad would do to him and also…well he was probably at least a little scared of her. Most people were, according to Minegishi, because little girls were not supposed to be more powerful than grown men. She was more powerful than he was, if she had felt like fighting him then she would have won, but she did not want to fight him. She didn't like fighting…and also she didn't like making people feel bad.

"How about you just say 'hey, until my dad's gone I'm in charge so listen up you worthless bastards because I'm not going repeat myself' and then you start telling people how it's going to be around here? You know, that they should stop fighting and crying…but don't tell them to knock it off with the fires. I like the fires." Said Shimazaki

"You like…fire? That's….weird. Fire is dangerous…and also I can't say things like that to people. It isn't nice." Said Mob

"That's your problem, Suzuki, you're too nice. You've got no ambition, no motivation, because you're too focused on being nice. I'd have been pissing my pants if I were in your shoes. From excitement. Think about it. As of now you're the President. You can make those bastards out there do literally anything." Said Shimazaki

"But I don't want to boss them around. I just want them to know that everything is going to be ok. That's all. I just have to tell them that it's all going to be ok and that dad is going to be coming home soon…even though I have no idea when he's coming home…and I miss him so much…" said Mob. She wished that someone had been there for her to tell her that dad would be coming back. She wished that someone would have just…been there to tell her that dad was coming back. She was fine. She could handle it. She could handle all of it.

"Why? Your dad's a bigger asshole than I am." Said Shimazaki

"My dad is not…that word. He isn't and don't call him that." Said Mob. She was kind of mad now. Dad wasn't a bad person. He could be mean sometimes but he was still a good person and he was still dad and-and-and people could not just go and say bad things about him like that.

"That's it, get fired up. Now go and address your people. You can do it President Suzuki." Said Shimazaki. His hand was on her back and he was pushing her towards the balcony now. She could have put up a barrier, she could have pushed him away, she could have run away, she could have hidden someone, she could have even told him to take her home right then and there….

But she didn't.

She couldn't. All of those people out there needed her. They needed her to tell them that they were all going to be ok. They needed her to tell them that dad was going to come back….even though she had no idea when dad was coming back. Dad was gone and she was all…alone. She was all alone and…and she couldn't feel his hand on her back anymore…and she sort of wished that she did. Not his hand specifically, she didn't much care for him, but someone's….

She was all alone.

There was a drone in front of her. She could hear the whirring of it's helicopter blades. She could see an aura, too, in it…which was weird…but there was no time to figure that out now. Everyone had stopped what they were doing. The crier had stopped crying and the shouters had stopped shouting and the hitters had stopped hitting and…and now they were all staring at her. Their eyes and their auras. It smelled…not good in there. Like fire and also…people not taking baths.

Also it was a mess.

She had to clean up this mess…but she didn't know how…but it didn't even matter if she knew how or not. She had to be there for these people. She had to be dad. She took a deep breath. How did dad look when he did this? She couldn't…she could remember. She did remember. She stood up as tall as she could…which was taller than before because she was older now and also her skirts had been getting shorter which meant that she was growing. She used her powers to keep her hair down so they wouldn't see her losing control. Power was nothing without control. She had power. She had all the power.

She had dad's power.

She had dad's powers, she's always had his powers since the day she had been born, but she had his power now, too. Power over Claw. Power over all the people in front of her…and she didn't much want it. Having power wasn't about being bossy and getting whatever you wanted. Also she didn't much feel like being bossy to all of these people. Having power was…was having to take care of all of these people. She was dad. She was in charge. She was….she was President Suzuki.

She was just wearing the costume.

"Hi…everyone. Good…good afternoon." Said Mob. Dad never said that, he just started talking, but she…she was not going to be rude like that. She was going to be polite to everyone. She was going to be nice to them. They needed someone to be nice to them. Especially with how upset they had been earlier…

They were staring at her.

"Fo-for those of you who don't know my name is Suzuki Shigeko. My dad is Suzuki Toucihirou…your boss. Um…the President. That's him. That's my dad." Said Mob. She focused on keeping her hair from flying away. She focused on keeping her breathing level. She focused on keeping calm. Conceal, don't feel, power is nothing without control.

She had power and she had control.

She didn't know how many people were in all of Claw. The whole of it. She didn't know if it was a few hundred people or even a few thousand. She did know, however, that they would do whatever she asked them to. They were all staring at her, now. She could see some of them talking to each other but they stopped when she felt her aura on them. She could see herself reflected in the tiny camera lens of the drone.

She looked like dad…and also did not look like him.

"My dad is away on a very important very secret mission. I don't know what that mission is but I do know that he wouldn't have left all of you if it wasn't important…because you're all very important to him." Said Mob. She wasn't lying. She was telling the truth and the truth came very easily to her. She knew that she could not lie to all of these people…that would have been wrong…but she did know that Claw was the most important thing in the world to dad. More important than even his own kids…maybe.

And Claw was important to her, too.

Claw was everything to her and dad. If dad cared about Claw then she cared about Claw too. She cared about how they were going to bring all the espers in the whole world together. She cared about how good things were going to be when dad took over the world…and she cared about making sure that Claw didn't fall apart before dad came back.

She didn't know what dad would do…what any of them would do…without Claw.

"You're all very important to me and my dad and we want you to know that everything is going to be ok. You're all important and…and I wish that you would have been nicer to each other since dad left. You've all been very bad since dad's been gone with all of the fighting and stuff…and also the fires. The fires weren't ok and the fights weren't ok and also…and also please stop crying because dad is gone. You know he's coming back. He wouldn't just leave all of you." Said Mob. She thought that she was saying the right thing. The people in front of her seemed happy, at least. More of them were smiling now.

That was good.

She didn't like it, being up there, having them all looking up at her. They were, a few of them were, saying her name. Suzuki. That was her name, Suzuki Shigeko, it had been her name for as long as she could remember, but she just…did not want to be called Suzuki Shigeko. She wanted to be called Mob. She wanted to be Mob. She was Mob. Mob wasn't noticeable. She blended in…

There was no way for her to blend in now. Not with everyone staring at her.

"I'm going to be filling for dad while he's gone so…um…if you have any questions or just want to talk to someone you can come up to dad's office. Ok? And also all of you have jobs so please do them. Everyone has to do their part to make Claw work. Ok? Um….thank you for listening to me. You're all very good people and…and I know that dad misses all of you a lot." Said Mob. She didn't know if dad actually missed them but she figured that he might have just a little since he cared so much about his work. He probably missed them in his own kind of mean and also a little bit weird way. As much as dad was capable of missing someone.

He loved his work more than anything so he must have, therefore, missed his work…so she wasn't lying.

She was just…just telling them things that she wished that someone would have told her. But there was no one there to tell her that dad missed her. That he was totally going to be coming back. That he loved her and cared about her. Dad was gone and he wasn't even that good at telling her nice things that she wanted to hear…but that was ok. Everything was ok.

She was the only one on the platform.

She was the one who had to reassure everyone. Even though she was the youngest person in the room. Even though she had no business at all filling in for dad. This should have been Sho's job. Sho was the boy. Sho was the one who was supposed to inherit the world once dad was done with it…but he was little. He was too little to be up here with her…or on her own. He was too little to be up there reassuring everyone in the whole of Claw. He was too little to…to be dad. He was only nine. She was ten. She was the oldest and…and this was her responsibility. Taking care of Claw was her responsibility. Making sure that…that it didn't fall apart was her responsibility.

Everything was her responsibility.

People were shouting now. They said that they loved her. They said that they loved dad. Some of them were just cheering. She didn't see how what she had said, what there was in that combination of words, that could have made everyone so happy. She just told them nice things, things that she knew that they wanted to hear, enough to make them happy without lying to their faces.

They were so happy.

It felt good, having made people happy. Being responsible for them feeling better. Maybe now they would get back to work. Maybe now they would stop acting like jerks to one another and just get back to their jobs already….and maybe she wouldn't even have to tell anyone what to do because they already knew what to do. Maybe she could just get back to Sho and Mukai and she could take off this costume and just get back to normal.

She didn't know.

"Suzuki, I could kiss you. You know that? I could-" said Shimazaki as she walked back behind the curtain. She wished that she didn't need someone to guard her. She wished that people didn't try to hurt her or dad or her family. She wished…she wished for a lot of things.

And Shimazaki to never, ever, ever say that he could kiss her ever again was right there at the top of the list.

"Please don't." said Mob. First of all she didn't even like him like that. Sure he was tall and stuff but there was more to liking someone than just noticing that they were taller than you. He wasn't nice enough for her to kiss, not for real and not for fun either, and also Minegishi kissed him and you did not just go and kiss someone who your friend had already kissed. Second of all she didn't even know why anyone would have ever wanted to kiss him in the first place. If it was a choice between kissing him and never kissing anyone else for her entire life she would gladly never kiss anyone else in her entire life.

"Come on, that was brilliant and you know it. All that shit about your dad giving a damn about any of us? It wouldn't have occurred to me to lie like that." Said Shimazaki

"I wasn't lying. Dad cares about Claw and this place and everyone in it is Claw and so dad cares about it. Now please take me to my dad's office. I have work to do." Said Mob. She tried to sound like dad did. When dad said that something was going to happen then I was going to happen. He never asked, he always told, and he had always been bossy…and she did not like to be bossy…but she also knew that sometimes she had to be bossy.

"Whatever you say, President Suzuki." Said Shimazaki. He put his hand on her shoulder and then, for a second, the world around her went black and it was scary…but then it was over and now she was in dad's office…where she had asked to go. Where she was supposed to be…because she was dad now…

She was President Suzuki now….and she didn't much want to be.

"Don't call me that. Dad's the President. I'm just his Daughter." Said Mob. She walked over to dad's desk and sat behind his chair…just as big and cold and uncomfortable as she remembered it. Dusty, though, dustier than she had remembered it…

The energy around her shifted.

There was a glass in front of her. There was some cola colored liquid in it. She knew that it wasn't cola. She knew that she was not supposed to drink that because she was a kid and also she had work to do…but she was also stressed…and her powers weren't….weren't being good…and she couldn't lose control over her powers. She had to have control because she was dad now and she had his power and…and power was nothing without control.

She reached for the glass.

There was a hand over hers. Why did he have to be so annoying? He was like Sho but bigger. Sho was…Sho was a kid and he was supposed to act like a kid. Shimazaki was not a kid but he acted like a kid. What was it with boys and acting like kids for their whole lives? Saying mean stuff and teasing her and…and running away from home…..and stuff….

"Fine. Your ladyship then." Said Shimazaki. Mob pulled her glass out of his hands and took a drink. If he wanted one then he could pour it for himself. He knew where the cups were. He was blind, not helpless, and he could do things for himself. So could she. She took another sip of her drink and then put it down under a barrier so he couldn't get to it.

"Just call me Mob. I like to be called Mob." Said Mob as she opened dad's laptop. Good. The logic hadn't changed. She didn't know what she would have done if the login had changed. The tech support guys had switched to playing Star Craft or War craft or something that had craft in the name and was long and important and made them lock themselves in their office for a week straight so they could play it nonstop.

"Well then, Mob, what's on our agenda now?" asked Shimazaki

"I'm going to be doing the stuff that dad does and I guess that you're supposed to keep people from trying to kill me." Said Mob

"I doubt that anyone here would lay a finger on you. Seriously, how did you think up all of that bullshit? All of that about your dad caring about us?" asked Shimazaki

"Dad does care about us. I wasn't lying. Dad cares about all of us in the…the best way that he can." Said Mob. He was sitting on the edge of the desk now. She wanted to tell him to get off but she didn't want to get into it with him. She had a lot of work to do. People needed….people needed a whole lot of things….things that dad had to personally approve of…but she was dad so…so she would have to be the one approving of things now….

"And what about you?" asked Shimazaki

"What about me?" asked Mob

"What's your angle? What do you hope to get out of this? You're being nice to them. Why? You don't have to. Your dad certainly isn't. What are you trying to get them on your side for?" asked Shimazaki

"There is not my side or dad's side. We both want Claw to do well. And also I was nice to them because…because I'm not a mean person. I don't see what would make me be mean to a bunch of people that depend on me and my dad to tell them what to do and how to live and…and just a lot of dependence. The people down there were feeling lost and sad and scared and…and abandoned…and I made them feel better. There's nothing that could ever make me be mean to someone." Said Mob. She was working, still, and not looking at him. It wasn't rude because he wasn't looking at her either. Well he was looking at her with his aura but he wasn't facing her.

So it was ok for her to keep on working.

"You know something, Suzuki?" asked Shimazaki

"What?" asked Mob. She had told him, had just told him, that she wanted to be called Mob and not Suzuki. When someone said that they wanted to be called something then you called them that. But he had never been good at calling people what they wanted to be called. That was why he always called Minegishi by their given name even though they really hated it.

"You're a genius." Said Shimazaki. Mob looked over at him. Well that was new, he never said nice things to her…or to anyone. She hadn't known that he even knew how. Maybe there was a first time for everything, like the saying went.

"Than you-" said Mob. She would have said more but he pressed a kiss to his hand and then pressed it to her cheek. She immediately wiped it off. Ick. She should have known that he would have been right back to being annoying.

"See? I told you I could kiss you and I did." Said Shimazaki

"Please just let me work, Shimazaki." Said Mob. She put a barrier up around herself. She did not feel like being teased right now. She had a lot to do, so much to do, and she could not be distracted by some boy acting like a…well like a boy. She had to be dad and dad had…really let his work pile up. That didn't matter. He was gone, for a little bit, and she had to take care of everything…and that was ok.

She was dad now, she had to be, or at least…at least she was wearing the costume.