Suzuki was tired.

He was extremely tired. Next time he was going to watch the clock more closely. He was useless to Claw this tired. He couldn't think. All the caffeine in the world could not keep him going. An early day….he may have had to call it an early day. But he couldn't call it an early day because he had work on top of work on top of work to do. He was the only one who could run Claw. The only other person who would even begin to be fit to run Claw was Daughter but he was not going to leave Daughter here alone.

For her own safety, of course.

Because something could happen to her…or something. Yes, that was the reason. Also for the safety of Claw. She had taken command from him in his absence months ago and he was still cleaning up the mess that she had made. He shuddered to think of what she would do next. He would already have be here until the New Year, no point in moving and no need to anyway, and he didn't want to have to spend any more time cleaning up after her messes. No more setbacks. What she had done…it could have even set back his goals by a year if not more…and he could not have that.

Not that he was angry with her.

He could never be angry with her. She was his Daughter and he loved her more than anything. She was…she was his and…and because she was his then he could admit that. She was his and he could feel any way that he wanted about her. Even if it was admitting weakness and admitting that he had, maybe, given her power over him. He had led his life so far not caring at all for the thoughts or feelings of another human being aside from following the rules of what was and was not socially acceptable. Daughter…Daughter was different. He had always cared for her but now…he had been not himself lately…

Not since Baby, anyway.

This had nothing to do with Baby. Baby was not his baby. She was just a baby. That was all. His children came from Masami and since Baby had not come from Masami then…then Baby was not his baby. She was not his daughter. He had a daughter. She was called Daughter. She was called Shigeko. She was called Suzuki Shigeko and she was his only Daughter and she had come from Masami…not really but she had been raised by Masami…and there was so much of Masami inside of her. So much of Masami goodness, her nurturing, the perfection of her. There was just so much of Masami in Daughter that…that his growing need to be beside her was perfectly normal and acceptable.

She was his and he could feel however he wanted to about her.

He felt her aura getting closer. He rubbed his eyes. He would feel better once she was near. She had gone to have lunch with her friends, that eclectic group she had surrounded herself with, and he had allowed it. He wanted to keep her by his side at all times. He wanted to keep her right there beside him until one of them died but that would not be healthy or practical. After all she did need to socialize. Her social skills had exceeded his ages ago. Therefore it was in his favor to allow her to socialize with her friends.

Even if she wasn't by his side when she did so.

"Hi, dad." Said Daughter as she entered his office. Suzuki felt his mood rise as he saw her…as well as several loose pieces of paper on his desk. That had not been good. That had not been good at all. The more exhausted he got the more his control slipped…and he needed to have good control. Better control than that. What kind of an example was he setting for her?

Not a very good one.

She had been nearer to him recently more than she ever had been before. He enjoyed it immensely. There was a world within her, it seemed, and he wanted to explore it. She had found the most amazing game for them to play. Not that it was just a game. It was a good place to try out new base designs and also…also it was good for planning skills and resource management. Therefore it was alright for him and Daughter to spend hours and hours playing together.

He wondered if they needed more turrets.

"Daughter. How was lunch with your friends?" asked Suzuki. He didn't much care. He knew that if something had gone wrong she would have told him. He just liked listening to her speak. She had the most delightful voice. Nice and level. Like his. Easy to understand. She said what she meant and she meant what she said.

Not like Masami.

Well Masami had been a normal person. There were layers to her speech that he had not been able to decipher. She had expected him to just understand what she was saying…and it had been difficult…but he knew Daughter and he knew what she said when she said it. She was so wonderful to speak with. Even when she was just telling him about her day or the antics that her friends got up to or things which she had seen in her programs.

He could have listened to her for hours.

"It was fine. Shimazaki kept on trying to steal people's cookies and also he and Minegishi got into a fight about coffee…well they said that it was about coffee but I don't think that it was just about coffee. Also today was spaghetti day and nobody threw any at anyone else even though that was what the Awakened did last spaghetti day…and also Shimazaki didn't start a spaghetti fight which was nice…probably because he was too busy fighting with Minegishi." Said Daughter

"Talk about something other than him." said Suzuki. Did she still have feelings for that man? How? Why? There was nothing special about him. He was just a powerful esper, very good looking, and he wore far too much cologne…which women seemed to love for some reason…but Daughter should not have been swayed like that. She should have had better taste than…him. She should have….Suzuki knew that his control was not the best right now and decided that maybe it would be better for himself, his Daughter, and the hundreds of people employed in this HQ along with the thousands of people who lived there in Tokyo and it's outer suburbs that he calm down and stop thinking about Shimazaki Ryou before he exploded.

"Um…ok. Dad….um….I really like my new travel mug and the coffee inside-" said Daughter

"Good. I knew that you would." Said Suzuki

"I do but um….I'm very tired. I'm very tired right now and I want to go home and take a nap and also…also I don't want to stay up all night playing Minecraft anymore. Because I'm very tired and…and I don't think that it's good for me to be awake for so long and also…also it's not fun when we play all night and you tell me what to do all the time." Said Daughter. She was holding her braids down with one hand now. Her dress, she was wearing the blue one from the ice queen movie again, was starting to rise up around her as if she was standing in the wind. Her aura was flaring.

She was losing control.

He exorcised his anger. This had been his miscalculation. He had been the one to keep her awake for far too long. He had been the one to insist that they continue on in their work. Because it had been enjoyable…right? Right? He had enjoyed himself immensely but she had said….she hadn't been having a good time? But she had…no. She must have been having a good time…because he knew her…

He needed to calm down.

"Are you saying that you desire greater autonomy when we play your game together?" asked Suzuki. Desiring greater autonomy was not the same as not having enjoyed herself at all. She had enjoyed herself. She must have enjoyed herself. Otherwise she would not have…have spent time with him. She would have left. She could have left. She could have left and then he would have found himself alone and…and he's getting ahead of himself. She was only ten years old.

She couldn't leave him even if she wanted to.

Which she, of course, did not. He gave her everything that she had ever wanted. He gave her his time and also frequent affirmations of his love for her. He provided for her in all the ways that she had asked. He's a good father. He does all the things that a father is supposed to do for his Daughter. She is his Daughter, his only Daughter, and he will always provide for her.

He cares for her more than anyone else in the whole world.

"Um…yes? I want you to boss me around less and I want…I want us to not stay up all night anymore. Those are the things that I want." Said Daughter. Suzuki thought for a moment. Yes. He could give her those things.

"Understood. In the future I will give you greater autonomy in the world we've built and also we will go to sleep at a reasonable hour." Said Suzuki

"Thank you." Said Daughter

"You're welcome." Said Suzuki. There was a moment there. She calmed herself down, at least, and he didn't know what had gotten her upset. Well aside from the lack of sleep. He had found himself in a terrible mood today as well. He checked the time. Nowhere near his usual leaving time.

She yawned.

He stifled a yawn. He was not going to yawn around her. He wasn't going to and he didn't let himself and that was that. Even though he was probably even more exhausted than she was. She was younger than him and more resilient. He hadn't been able to keep his mind on anything at all today but that was nothing compared to the way his back and joints had been protesting the fact that he had spent an entire night sitting up in a kitchen chair. He was getting so old. Fukuda couldn't fix this, not in a permanent way, because this was just a part of being in his forties. His father had complained of back pain as well. Though he hadn't had to deal with it for so for very long.

"Um….dad? Can I go home? I'm tired." Said Daughter. Suzuki forced himself to stay calm. She was talking about leaving. She was talking about leaving him and…and being away from him…and he had this irrational feeling that if she left him then she would never come back. Even though he knew for a fact that he could love and trust her. She was loyal to him and she would never leave him. Also she was only ten and would not get very far.

He exorcised his emotions.

"You're saying that you want to go home and sleep because you're tired?" asked Suzuki. He knew that she was not asking to leave so she could get away from him. He knew but he just needed to have it confirmed for his own peace of mind. He was not…he was not going to lose control…so long as he remembered that he had no reason to lose control.

"Yes. That's what I just said. I want to go home and go to sleep." Said Daughter. Suzuki glanced at the clock. It wasn't late enough to leave but…but he was useless to Claw if he was this exhausted. He was useless to Claw and he was useless to her. He closed his laptop and stood up.

"Very well. Come along, Daughter." Said Suzuki. Daughter was looking up at him with wide eyes. He didn't know why.

"You want me to come with you? I mean you want to come with me? But why? You don't usually go back home until-" said Daughter

"I am well aware of the time, Daughter, I can read a clock. You and I were both awake for the entire night. We're both in no way fit to run Claw right now. That is why we're going to call it an early day. Now collect your things and we'll leave." Said Suzuki

"Um…ok…that's fine." Said Daughter. He had no idea why she had to attach a value judgement to it. This had been her idea. They were tired so they had to go home and rest. He was grateful to her, he really was, because he never would have gone home on his own. She was nurturing like that. She was like Masami like that. Masami had pulled him away from his work and to bed many times. She had been good at knowing what he knew better than he knew it.

Daughter so took after her mother.

She packed her things away quickly, her devices and chargers and other such bits of technology. She used to bring her dolls with her wherever she went. She used to play with them on the floor. He used to enjoy watching her. The way each doll had it's own personality and motivations and back story. Had truly fascinated him. She had been a fascinating child. She still was. Even though she was bigger now. Even though she had proven herself to be so much more than a child. She had proven herself capable to caring not only for herself and for her brother but for him as well.

Masami would have been so proud.

He knew that he was proud of her. He was proud of her for coming to him and pulling him away from work, amazingly enough, because she was right. It was time to go home. He had been too achy and tired to function. She had thought of him and…and he was grateful for that. She was always thinking of others. He was proud of her for that. He was proud of the person that she had become. So capable. So small but so capable. Even at ten she served him better than legions of grown men ever could. He was so happy, yes that was the word, to have her for a Daughter.

She had even earned herself some more point in his book by not speaking to Shimazaki more than she had to.

He had teleported them home, it was just faster even though he did enjoy a nice long car ride, and Daughter hadn't even taken his hand. She had barely even spoken to him. Good. Maybe her feelings were waning. Maybe now she knew that there was more to choosing her most perfect person than good looks and skill with psychic abilities. He was proud of her for that. Fukuda must have been right. It must have been nothing more than an infatuation.

Wonderful.

She was putting that infatuation behind her and he was proud of her. He was proud of her for so many things these days. The way she cared for Son, the way that she cared for him, even the way that she faced her shoes in the genkan when they came home. Masami had done the same thing…well of course she had faced her shoes the right way she was a very polite woman like that even in her own home, but just in the way that she moved…Daughter moved the same way. She even fixed her shoes by hand. She picked each shoe up in her little hand and faced them the right way.

She had such beautiful hands.

She really did. Her fingers were long and her skin was pale and she didn't have a single callous or blemish. She had painted her nails, too. Blue. The same color blue as her favorite dress. She always wore a lot of blue. Masami had worn a lot of yellow. Daughter had a yellow dress, right? She did. He remembered that she did. It was the one that the French princess…or maybe she was a queen…it was from one of her films. She liked it. He knew that she liked it. He wished that she would wear her yellow dress more often.

He doesn't ask her to, though.

Criticizing a woman's clothing is dangerous business. Women wore what they wore and they did not want his opinion on their clothing. It had taken him a VERY long time to realize a woman asking how she looked was not asking for his opinion. She wanted to be told that she was beautiful. So that was what he always said…and Masami had always been beautiful. Even if she had just been in the stained night shirt with the hole in the collar and her hair spread all around her like a lion's mane she had still been beautiful.

Daughter was beautiful too.

In a completely different way than Masami had been, of course, because she is his Daughter and not his wife. She is his Daughter and she is his and therefore it is ok to think that she is beautiful. There is just something to her. Something perfect about her. So small and so perfect and he just wants to pick her up…but he can't because she's awake and while she has expressed that she would never think of him as being weak he was not going to just…go and do that. Even though he could if he wanted to because she was his and he was Suzuki Touichirou and he could do whatever he wanted.

"Dad? What are you looking at me for?" asked Daughter

"No reason in particular. Come, I'm exhausted." Said Suzuki

"Oh. You still want me to sleep in your bed even if it's daytime?" asked Daughter

"Of course." Said Suzuki. That was where she slept now. She hadn't expressed any displeasure so of course he would allow her to sleep beside him for as long as she needed to. She was small after all. She had always enjoyed sleeping beside him. That was just how children were.

"Um….ok." said Daughter. There. That was the end of it. It felt a bit odd, sleeping in the middle of the day, but he needed it. When he got to his bedroom he took off his tie and suit coat. He couldn't sleep in those. Daughter simply got into bed dressed in her daytime clothes. Right. Too early for pajamas. He was about to turn around before he stopped himself.

He did like the feel of her in his arms.

He took off his button down too. Masami had always said that it was odd, how he slept, and he had never seen anything odd about it. He slept in a button down and slacks because he had been comfortable in a button down and slacks. She slept in pajamas because she had been most comfortable in pajamas. That was just how it was. She had expressed, before, how she couldn't even feel him when he was dressed in so many layer like that. Also her hair got caught in his buttons sometimes.

Daughter's hair had also gotten caught in his buttons on occasion.

He could not have that. He didn't want to cause her pain like that and also…also it was a gift to hold her in his arms. It was a gift to hold her in his arms just like it was a gift to have held Masami in his arms. Daughter will never leave him but…but she's getting bigger. She's getting bigger and one day she would be too big so sleep beside. She would always be his Daughter but one day she would also be a grown woman and he had no idea if it was alright to share a bed with his Daughter when she became a grown woman. He held no sexual attraction to her, and he never would, but there were rules about this.

So he would enjoy her company while he could.

He folded his button down and left it on top of his dresser beside his tie and suitcoat. The air felt cold against his arms. Pale. He was pale. Pale as Son. He had freckles there too, like Son did, even though his arms hadn't seen the sun since he had been a child. No scars, though, because unlike son he had never had to be forcibly awakened. No, he had always had his powers. He had been a prodigy just like Daughter.

His little prodigy.

His little sleeping prodigy. It seemed that she had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. She hadn't even pulled the covers up around herself. That wasn't good. He pulled the covers around her until he knew that she was comfortable. Then he laid himself down beside her. She did not stir. His arms were cold and…and he had done this so he could hold her…but she was asleep…and that meant that she would not be rolling into his arms…and that meant that he had done this for nothing.

And he could not have that.

He wondered if this was ok. He wondered if it was ok to express weakness like this. He didn't know. All he knew was that it was a gift to hold her and he would not be wasting that gift. After all it had been a gift to hold Masami and…and he hadn't know what he'd had until she had been gone. Daughter would leave him too…time would take her away from him. One day she would meet a man….not Shimazaki….and then he would have been replaced in her bed and in her life. Someone else would know what a gift it was to hold her. Some other man would replace him in her life…and that was just how it went. That was just nature's way. Little girls grew up and left you.

Unless someone invented some sort of anti-growth serum…

No. He wants her to grow up. He both wants to freeze her now, at the most perfect age of ten, and he wants her to grow up. Knowing that she would grow up made this whole thing…better…because now he knew what a gift it was to hold her in his arms. She was so warm and soft and just…there. She was there. He committed every moment of this to memory. The way the sun hit her hair, the rise and fall of her chest, the little smile on her face. All of it. Everything. The perfection that was Shigeko. The gift that it was to hold his Daughter, his most precious possession, in his arms.

He loved her so much.

Her hand opened and closed. He reached over and took it in his. She had such soft hands, such beautiful hand, and he would not take them for granted. He would take no part of this for granted. No part of her for granted. Not her caring, not her nurturing, and not the perfection that was his Daughter. No, he would never take even a single moment of their time together for granted.

He loved her.

He loved her more than anything and…and she had asked him to say it so it was alright. This was alright. The way he felt was alright. She had granted him permission, not that he needed permission for anything, but she had still granted him her permission to…to love her. To love her and hold her and cherish her and never let her go….and he never would. He would never let her go. He would not make the same mistakes again. She was by his side where she belonged and she would never even think of leaving him. Because he loved her. Daughter.

He was tired.