The Awakened fought a lot.

Mob didn't understand it. Why did they have to be liked that? They were all a part of Claw together and they were all working towards the same goal. They all wanted to help the world a better a place. Each and every member of Claw from the upper echelon to the guys who chased the pigeons off the open air mezzanine mattered. They all worked together in order to make dad's dream of a world where espers could all be together and wouldn't have to hide their powers or be afraid of themselves. They were all in it together.

So they needed to stop with the fighting already.

"Ok, what happened this time?" asked Mob trying to be as nice as possible. She had just sent out a memo that morning about not fighting but what did they do? They went and fought each other. Now someone was bleeding and the guy that took off his clothes for every fight couldn't find his pants and also someone had stepped on the ping-pong ball so now it was shaped like a croissant. That wasn't the worst of it.

The Wii was broken.

She had let them have a Wii and they broke it. Why? Why did they have to fight all the time like a bunch of little kids? She and Sho didn't even fight this much. Well Sho tried to fight her but she just let him hit her and stuff until he got tired of it. Sho was a little kid, though, only nine years old. These guys were all grown adults.

She knew. She was the one who wrote the birthday memo.

"He started it!" they all pointed to one guy who was trying to hide behind the couch. Mob used her powers to move the couch out of the way. He shrieked and then covered his face. Mob didn't know that guy, she actually didn't know most of the Awakened, and she felt sort of bad about that. Maybe if she was nicer to them and learned their names and made more of an effort to be their friend then they would stop acting like this all the time.

"Why did you start a fight?" asked Mob. She tried to sound like mom then, all nice and stuff, and not like dad. Dad would have just started beating people up. She had no intention of beating anyone up. That wasn't a good thing to do so she would not be doing it.

"I didn't! I only wanted to be the Mii gunner but then Hiro said that I couldn't but he's not the boss of the Wii and then I tried to be Mii gunner anyway but he bit me-" said the Awakened

"You shouldn't have licked the controller!" shouted another Awakened. Mob tried to keep on smiling, keep on being nice, even though that was the grossest thing ever. It was one thing when your little brother did that, it was ok because since you were brother and sister you had the same germs, but another when you did that to your coworker. There were two hundred and fifty Awakened in the Tokyo branch of Claw, she had decided to let everyone transfer to wherever they wanted to when she had been filling in for dad, and they all had different germs. Also not everyone washed their hands after using the bathroom even though she'd had handsanitzer stations but up everywhere.

"You should have let me be the Mii gunner! And you guys shouldn't have made fun of my Mii! It does not look like the bastard child of an aging prostitute and an underage milkman!" said the Awakened. Mob had no idea what any of that meant but she knew that people should not have been insulting one another…even if the Mii gunner was the worst character in the game because you could just spam the shooting nonstop and doing that made the game not be fun anymore.

But she didn't say that.

"All of you guys should be nice to one another. We're all Claw together. Each and every one of us needs to work together and be friends so we can all make dad's dream of a better world for espers everywhere come true." Said Mob. Everyone was looking at her now. They were staring with their eyes and what little auras that they had. Their copy paste auras. She couldn't tell them apart that well, actually, and she tried to focus on their faces and there were so many of them…

"Um…yeah. We need to all be nice to one another. We're all the same here. Everyone here is an esper and…and that means that we're all the same. Even if…um…even if we're from different countries…most of us are Japanese but still….and even if we're boys and girls…but I'm the only girl…and um…" said Mob. They were staring at her even more, now. They weren't even blinking. They were staring at her and…and she had to keep on talking.

"Even if we're different ranks and…and different people all together…and even if we pick different characters in Smash Brothers we're all the same and we should all be nice to each other. Ok?" asked Mob. They were all still staring at her. They were all still staring like they were expecting something and she had no idea what it was. She had told them to be nice to each other…but then what else could she say? They were all the same and they all had to be nice to one another.

What else was there?

"Um….now everybody hug and be friends." Said Mob. They all started hugging one another right when she said that. That was good. When she and Sho had been little kids and they fought mom would make them hug and make up. Since the Awakened weren't going to act their ages she was going to act like they were little kids.

They were hugging, now, and it looked like they were all friends.

"Ok. Now everyone's ok and I'm just going to go and get some Jell-O for my friends-" said Mob. She was about to turn around and leave. She was getting sort of hungry and she had promised to bring back Jell-O so that was what she was going to do.

Well that had been the plan, anyway.

"Our Ladyship wants Jell-O! Bring her all the Jell-O! Then chew it for her so she doesn't choke!" shouted an Awakened. He tried to run and tripped over his feet. Mob caught him with her powers and sat him down on the couch.

"That's ok. I can get my own Jell-O. I just want you guys to get friends and also get back to work because we can't all work together to make dad's dreams happen if we aren't, you know, working…and also please don't try and chew my Jell-O for me. I can chew my own food…and also you don't have to chew Jell-O because it's a gel…o." Said Mob. She was being looked at again. She didn't like it when they all looked at her with their eyes and all of their auras…which looked like the same aura….it was so weird…

"Are you sure, your Ladyship?" asked an Awakened. Mob nodded quickly.

"Yes. I want you all to work and also I can chew my own food and also people don't need to chew Jell-O because it's a gel. Ok?" asked Mob. She took a step back. They were all still looking at her.

"You can stay? The Wii is broken but the Genesis still works." Said an Awakened. He was then shoved by another Awakened….and now Mob understood what people meant when they said 'in one ear and out the other'.

"Hey, I just said not to fight." Said Mob. She felt a headache coming on. She wished that dad took his breaks outside of his office. She wished that he would just leave her alone so she could have a drink, just one, from the fancy bottles in his office. That was all that she needed to get rid of this headache.

"That's not your Genesis. I brought that from home and-" said the first Awakened. He shoved the other one back. Now they were shoving like a bunch of little kids…like a bunch of boys. Boys did this all the time even when they were all grown up. Shibata and Shimazaki shoved each other sometimes too. She didn't get it.

"I said not to-" said Mob. She put up a barrier between them so they stopped fighting….or just pushed against her barrier. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her aura still. She had to be nice. She had to be nice and she had to be nice to them and…and that was what she had to do. Once she stopped them from fighting she could go get the Jell-O for everyone and then she could eat Jell-O and then maybe take a vape break with Shimazaki…or maybe borrowing just one cigarette from him wouldn't be that bad…

But then she would have to be alone with him after….what happened…

Which was better than listening to the two of them fight. The others were taking sides, too, and nothing that she said was making them stop. She tried telling them that she wanted them to be nice. That just made them start fighting over what was and what was not nice…and also if bringing a game system from home made it communal property or if it stayed your property and you were just a jerk who was taking up the communal property that was the couch and the TV and also the snacks that felt between the couch cushions….which they should not have been eating because of the germs….

It was awkward between her and Shimazaki but as long as she didn't look at him for too long it wouldn't be too bad. He had the best vapes.

"Guys….please…." said Mob. They were fighting still and it looked like they were going to keep on fighting for a while and she could not let them fight…but they really wanted to fight…and their auras….aura….because it was all the same aura. It was all the same aura and all the same fight and her head hurt and she just could not…she could not be there but she couldn't go because they needed her and…

And she had to be there for them.

She had to be there for people when she was needed. People were supposed to get along and she was supposed to help people get along because she was in charge of them but not really but also yes really because she was second only to dad and they just kept on fighting and there was nothing that she could do and their aura was so bright and she could see it and feel it and it felt like she couldn't get out and she didn't….she just didn't know.

She felt another aura.

That was a different aura. It cut right through the red. It was there and…and also everywhere. She could feel it in the walls and…and also in her phone? Sort of like Minegishi's aura, how it could always be felt through the plants around them, only with….the lights? And her phone in her pocket? It was…different.

But also sort of familiar…but from where

"What the hell is going on in here?"

Mob felt him before she saw him….but that was normal when it came to other espers. She always felt people before she saw them. She was hardly ever surprised when it came to other espers. She could sneak up on people because her aura was so much….but she could not be snuck up on. She always knew when people were coming and therefore she was never surprised…well not never.

She was surprised now.

The first thing she noticed was his sweater. There was a bird on the front of his sweater. The bird looked like a pigeon and Mob had never given much thought to pigeons but now she decided that they were her favorite birds. Minegishi called them rats with wings but Mob disagreed now. Also her favorite color was blue now, too, because she really liked that shade of blue. He dressed well, this boy, and also he was tall…very tall….well everyone was taller than her but he was tall. Not as tall as Shibata thought…or Shimazaki…or dad…or Minegishi…but this boy was still taller than her and that made him very tall. Also his glasses were square and she had never seen square glasses before. They were cool. He was cool.

Mob didn't know his name but she got the feeling that he was cool.

"Um…they're fighting and the Wii is broken…so maybe you should take your break somewhere else…if you want to." Said Mob. The Awakened were fighting less, now, at least they weren't hitting each other anymore. That was good. She could leave now. She should have left while she had the chance…but she also didn't want to leave.

She didn't know why.

This place was loud and dirty and also everyone was counting on her to bring back Jell-O. He, the boy with the cat sweater, was holding a cup of Jell-O so maybe she should have headed down and got some before it was gone. She had said that nobody got seconds until everyone got firsts but she also knew that desserts made people crazy so, of course, they were going to take as many as they could...and she really needed to do what she said that she was going to do…

But she also really liked meeting new people.

"Believe me, I wouldn't be here if I had a choice. This is the burden of being tech support. I go where I'm needed." Said the boy. Mob didn't know how name. She wanted to know his name. He worked in tech support…she didn't know any of the people in tech support. She needed to start learning people's names. That was what she should have been doing instead of just standing there and doing nothing.

She must have looked so dumb.

"Here, hold my Jell-O while I fix this." said the boy. He handed her his Jell-O cup before she could even say anything. This was….wow. He trusted her with his Jell-O and he had just met her. She watched him, his aura, as he worked. His aura lived inside of electricity, it looked like, since she could see it climbing through the walls and the TV and the Wii. He fixed it fast. She hadn't even seen what he did. She just heard some beeping, saw his aura, and now it was on again. Just like that. He didn't even have to turn it off then on again.

Wow.

"Hey, morons! It's fixed! Also when you bring a console here unless you're brining your own couch and TV then it's communal property! And stop brining your shit from home in. Unless your name is Suzuki we don't have to do shit for you!" said the boy. Mob did not like how often he cursed but that was just what adults did. They cursed and said mean things to each other sometimes and that didn't mean that he was a bad person. She had no idea what sort of person he was but she knew that he was not a bad one.

He couldn't have been if he worked for Claw.

"Thanks, kid." Said the boy as he took his Jell-O cup back. Mob nodded and stood very still as he passed. She didn't know what to say or do so she did nothing, but then as he left she decided that maybe she shouldn't have let him pass her by. She liked meeting new people and she wanted to meet new people and she would meet new people and also it was good to know everyone.

So she followed him.

Well technically they were going the same way. Well the cafeteria was in the other direction but she could always turn around. If he asked, though, she would say that she was on her way to the outside break room. There. That was a thing that she would say. She knew what to say. She knew what to say in the even that he asked her why she was following him.

"Hey kid, you lost?" asked the boy. He stopped in the middle of the hallway and turned to face her. He was looking at her with his eyes and his aura.

What had she been planning on saying again?

"Um….no? I'm not lost. I'm…here. I am here. We are here. Like a 'you are here sign'…heh." Said Mob. She was stupid. She was stupid and she needed to be banned from talking. She needed to be banned from ever speaking to anyone again like those monks that lived on the tops of mountains and took vows of silence. She had sounded so stupid and now….and now he probably thought that she was stupid.

"Right. Well you really should get back to your parents or whatever. You don't want to wander around this place, believe me." Said the boy

"Um….yeah. I should get back to dad…because he probably wants me to come back…but um….thank you for fixing the Wii. That's all…I just wanted to say thank you…so thank you…um…" said Mob. Were those words? Was she speaking Japanese? Did the words that came out of her mouth make sense? Did anything make sense? She didn't know. She just knew that she had to say something. Anything.

"Finally, some thanks. I've had to fix that thing five times this week…and it's only Wednesday. Who the hell thought that giving them a Wii was a good idea?" said the boy. Mob looked down. Right, that had been a dumb idea. Well it had been their idea but she should have known that it would just end up being one more thing for those guys to fight about…and also they would rather play Wii than work…

"That was my idea…I mean my fault. I mean my dad left me in charge and I just wanted to make them happy…sorry for making more work for you." Said Mob. She thought that she had said the right thing. All of her words were in Japanese and they made sense. But now he was being all slack jawed and his aura was all focused on her…

He was looking at her.

She looked down at her shoes. She tapped her heels against the ground and they lit up. She played with her dress as she stood. He was staring at staring and staring and she knew that she should have told him to stop staring because it was rude but she didn't know how to tell him to stop and also she didn't really want to talk…and also her powers were being all weird. She could feel her braids starting to float a little bit.

"You….you're the boss' Daughter? The one from the address?" asked the boy. Mob nodded but did not look up.

"You? Seriously? But you're, what, six? Seven?" asked the boy. Now Mob looked up. She was a lot older than that! She was ten! She was ten and she was not six or seven and….and he thought that she looked that little? She didn't even know his name but she cared what he thought…but that made sense since she cared what everyone thought…but she especially cared what he thought…

Which was weird.

"…ten. I'm ten." Said Mob. She felt warm all over. She felt like she wanted to melt into the floor even though she knew that if she did that the nobody would come back with the Jell-O. It was very important that she come back with the Jell-O. She was the only one who could be trusted. Shimazaki might eat it and Shibata might eat it too and dad would never go down and get Jell-O for everyone. So she had to go and get the Jell-O.

Her legs felt like Jell-O.

"Oh, sorry. You just look younger now. Probably the costume. Getting ready for Halloween or are you just really into cosplay?" asked the boy.

"Um…these are just my normal clothes….that I wear…in life." Said Mob. She wanted to change. She wanted to go home and change into something else. Anything. Why was she wearing this? She looked so stupid. She looked stupid and he probably thought that she looked stupid and-

"Oh. Well you look nice, Suzuki-sama." Said the boy. She loved this dress. She was never taking this dress off ever again. She was going to be buried in this dress. She was going to haunt the world as a spirit in this dress.

"Um…thanks. But you don't have to call me Suzuki-sama. You can call me Suzuki-san or just Suzuki or Suzuki Shigeko or just Shigeko or Mob. I like Mob. That's what my friends call me…or one of them. I have three friends but only one calls me Mob. I have a little brother too but he doesn't count as a friend because we're siblings. He calls me big sis but only he can if you called me big sis that would be weird because we're not brother and sister and also you're a lot older than me and…um…what's your name?" asked Mob. Too many words. Now he was probably bored to death because she couldn't shut up and let him say some words. This was hard. This was very hard. When had talking to people gotten to be this hard?

"Hatori Nozomu. Floating tech support." Said the boy….Hatori. Family name only. Family name only because they had just met and she should not have even thought about calling him Nozomu…she liked that name so much….and she had no idea why.

What was with her?

She had felt like this before…sort of. Like her stomach was about to make its' way out of her body. Even though she hadn't eaten anything weird lately. There was some doki doki to that…maybe. She didn't know. Doki doki wasn't this fast or this hard and…and also it sort of felt like she needed to lay down for a little bit….but in a good way….and just did not get it…

She was so weird sometimes.

"I'm Suzuki Shigeko…but you know that. Um…I work in dad's office and…stuff. I…um….I write memos! That's my job…to write memos." Said Mob. He was looking at her. She was looking at him. She liked his glasses and his hair and his sweater and jeans and the way he held his Jell-O cup and the way the light hit his glasses and also how it reflected off of his hair and forehead and even all the little red dots all over his face and just….all the things that came together to make this person!

She decided that she wanted to be friends with him.

"Yeah, I saw that thing today. That was really nice of you, the thing with the birthday shout outs and stuff. Anyway it was nice talking to you but I have to go and do work. Legitimate work, not War Craft, so you don't have to come up and check up on us or anything. Because we're definitely not playing War Craft in there." said Hatori. Mob nodded. She wanted him to stay and talk to her but also she wanted him to go away because she was having a lot of trouble breathing and thinking and…stuff. All the stuff.

"Um…it was nice to meet you too. Happy….Happy Wednesday. I'm just going to go and….and walk in this direction now. Good bye!" said Mob. She walked and walked and walked until she got to the cafeteria. Then she got the Jell-O.

She took too many.

Now there were four and four was way too many and now everyone was going to fight over the last one…or it could be dad's and then she could just eat it later…his sweater looked so soft….and then that wouldn't be fair though…his skin was so shiny….and she had to make it fair…he had such cool glasses…..so maybe they should divide the extra Jell-O up into thirds….he was so tall…or maybe she should just put it back….he smelled really nice even though he sort of didn't….but she had already touched it…

Jell-O was complicated.

She didn't know what to do with this Jell-O cup and she liked not knowing what to do with this Jell-O cup. At least that way it took her mind off of the new person she had met….and now she was thinking about him again…and she didn't get herself sometimes. She had met someone knew. She met new people every day. Maybe it was because she wanted to be friends with him. Yes, that was it. He seemed like a good candidate for a friend. He had cool powers and he seemed nice and also he hadn't gotten caught up in the Awakened's fight….and that was the best thing about him, she decided then.

About Hatori Nozomu.