Something was wrong with Little Sister-sama.

"Did your parents ever make you feel like you couldn't breathe?"

Yeah, something was definitely wrong with Little Sister-sama. She wasn't actually his little sister, not unless his parents were keeping some BIG secrets, but she had grown on him. She had certainly hung around him enough to grow on him. She was a very lonely little kid with no friends her own age, no school to go to, no clubs to join, and now apparently her dad was trying to smother her or something…hopefully it wasn't literal. Suzuki was nuts…really nuts…but he wouldn't try to…like…hold a pillow over his Daughter's face to suffocate her or anything like that….right?

He'd been playing too many horror games again.

"What do you mean, Little Sister-sama?" said Hatori. She liked it when he called her that. Her aura did this shudder thing sometimes. That meant that she liked being called Little Sister-sama. The sama made it respectful because she outranked him and the Little Sister was there to show her that they had a close thing going on. She had asked him once if they could ever be more than friends. Poor kid. She was lonely and wanted a close connection with someone.

He could not imagine what it was like to walk around in her sparkly blue shoes all day.

It must have sucked being the President's kid. He knew because she had said how much it sucked before. Her brother was mean to her, she made excuses for him but Hatori could read between the lines, her dad expected the world of her, and she had to deal with the fact that one day all of this would be hers. No wonder she wore costumes all the time. He would want to escape, too, if he had to deal with all of that responsibility.

Also, apparently, her dad was trying to suffocate her too on top of everything else.

"You had parents, right? I mean before all of this you had parents?" asked Little Sister-sama

"Yeah. They uh…passed away…when I was in my first year of high school. After that I lived in a group home for a couple weeks before Claw found me. But, yeah, I had parents." Said Hatori. He doesn't like to talk about this with people. They're dead, he knows they're dead, and he knows that they aren't going to respawn just because he doesn't like to talk about the fact that they're dead. He just…doesn't like to talk about them…but she's a kid and she has questions and he's going to answer them for her because he's an adult and her pseudo older brother and that's his job.

Unless she asks him where babies come from or something like that. Then he's lying through his teeth and he's knows that he'd be right to do it.

"Oh. I'm very sorry that your mom and dad died. That must have been very hard on you and I can't imagine what it's like to know that they're dead and you'll never see them again. My mom ran away from home but that's not the same…and also please don't tell my dad that I was talking about my mom. He says that she's a traitor for leaving us and we're not supposed to talk about traitors." Said Little Sister-sama

"Don't worry. If anyone reviews the security tapes they'll just see that gum commercial." Said Hatori as he pointed up at the security camera. His aura was visible for a moment as he set the cameras to play back that annoying commercial, complete with jingle, for anyone that decided to get nosy.

"The one with the song?" asked Little-Sister-sama

"Yup. Gum in the morning-" said Hatori

"Gum in the evening." Said Little Sister-sama

"Gum after supper time. When you're chewing gum it's always a very good time." They both finished at once. He laughed, a little, and she turned red. Oh. He must have embarrassed her. He patted her on the shoulder to try and make her feel better but that just embarrassed her more. He had no idea what to do…oh! Kids loved Doritos! He handed passed her his Dorito's bag, original nacho cheese flavor would always be the best Dorito flavor, and she took one.

She was still red though.

He felt like crap. He had embarrassed her without even realizing it. People used to make him feel like that all the time, back before he had joined Claw, and he had vowed never to make anyone feel bad like that ever again. Ever. No matter what. Especially not a kid and especially not a little girl but especially not a little girl with the weight of the world on her shoulders.

"Sorry if I embarrassed you." Said Hatori

"No, you didn't. I like…um….I like that song and I like…gum…and also Doritos. Thank you for the Doritos. I love them so much. One time me and my brother wanted to which flavor was the best so we bought all the Doritos and then we tried them and…um….I like this kind the best. He likes spicy nacho cheese flavor the best. That was um…what we found out when we tried all the Doritos." Said Little Sister-sama. He liked hearing these stories from her life. Gave him a little glimpse behind the curtain of the Suzuki family. He had always figured that Suzuki would have been the stern and controlling type. Turns out he let his kids do literally whatever they wanted.

Well he used to.

He had been keeping Little Sister-sama close lately. Hatori had no idea what was up with that. His dad had been a nice guy so when he thought of hanging out with a dad all the time and playing Minecraft with him and watching TV together it sounded like a good time…but Suzuki was not a normal guy let alone a nice one so, yeah, Little Sister-sama was not having a good time. Poor kid.

"That was nice of your dad to let you eat all of that junk food. My parents were always on me about eating healthy. Well jokes on them because I live out of a vending machine." Said Hatori before he tossed another chip into his mouth. He made sure not to choke on it this time. Now that would have been a hell of a lot more embarrassing than singing the gum song.

"You eat in the cafeteria sometimes. Like yesterday. You had a tuna sandwich with an apple, a pint of chocolate milk, and you took two cookies instead of one. You also took extra mayonnaise packets even though the sandwich already had plenty of mayonnaise on it." Said Little Sister-sama. She was just a kid so that wasn't creepy. She was just a kid and she wasn't self-aware enough to realize that she came off kind of…stalker-ish when she said stuff like that…but she would figure it out eventually. Hatori used to follow people around all the time when he had been her age…of course those had been girls he liked…but also he had been kind of an early bloomer when it came to certain things. She was just curious about him and hadn't been taught that stalking was wrong. That was all.

"Hey, I like mayo. It's good for you, it has…egg…in it." Said Hatori

"Minegishi says that mayonnaise is poison because it clogs your arteries and sends you to an early grave." Said Little Sister-sama. Hatori perked up. Something new about Minegishi. She…they. They, they, always they or they will never speak to you again because they are gender fluid or non-binary or…well he would have asked them but he hadn't exchanged more than a handful of words with them and maybe he shouldn't open with his confusion on their gender identity. No, that would they them pissed off at him…more so than they usually were.

He didn't get it.

He was making an effort to get to know them but it seemed like they disliked him…or maybe they were just that way with everyone. They did not have good performance views and they were not spoken of in glowing or even positive terms on their mission reports. Does not work well with others. That came up the most often. Maybe they would like him, though, if he just made more of an effort…or something. Not in a creepy way just maybe trying to get more into things they liked, like healthy eating.

He looked over at the mess that was his desk…they could pry his snacks from his greasy, sticky, hands.

"So they're really into healthy eating I take it?" asked Hatori

"Yes, but only when they haven't been smoking. When they have been smoking then it's ok. All bets are off, they said. It makes sense. Smoking makes you hungry." Said Little Sister-sama. That….that made no sense. Hatori had smoked a cigarette once just to see what it was like and it hadn't made him hungry. Actually it had made him sick.

"Not sure if it works like that." Said Hatori

"It does. It makes you hungry but also it makes the world just…better. Like all the stuff that makes you feel bad is just….gone. And also food tastes better and music sounds better and TV shows are funnier…well everything is funnier….and little brother hugs are somehow even better than usual…but don't tell anyone how I know that. It's a secret…and I trust you with it…and stuff." Said Little Sister-sama. There was….a whole lot to unpack there in what she had just said to him. Just…what? She was TEN! How did she even…she was not talking about smoking cigarettes…and he knew…well he didn't KNOW but he knew people who smoked…but she was only TEN!

Maybe that was why Suzuki was keeping her so close.

Hatori tried not to look shocked. He wasn't going to shame her. She had come to him with the great big secret…he had no idea why she had decided to tell him this at all…and he was not going to shame her. If he shamed her now then she would never come to him with anything again and then he would have alienated her and now he was involved and if anything happened to this kid then he would be partially culpable and he never wanted that responsibility but…but he had it and…and stuff.

Also just….WHAT THE HELL?!

"Are you….are you talking about getting high?" asked Hatori. He spoke quietly even though the guys around him all had headphones on and a few of them were trying to surreptitiously watch…things that they should not have been watching at work…yeah, the polarized screen was not in any way a dead give away…well a ten year old talking about getting high was still worse than that and not something that these morons needed to know about. Hell. This was not something that he needed to know about. What if Suzuki tried to extract information from him? He knew how those 'interrogations' went….maybe he needed to get one of those cyanide teeth put in incase anything ever happened….

He needed to calm the hell down and be an adult here.

"Yes, but don't tell anyone. You can keep a secret, right? You know….maybe I should have started with that…before I told you a secret." Said Little Sister-sama

"Yeah, in the future start with that one…but I can keep a secret. I mean I have no reason to tell anyone. I'm not exactly itching to tell everyone about what you get up to when no one's looking….that's just not who I am." Said Hatori

"Ok. Thank you." Said Little Sister-sama. She was still sitting there like normal in her costume and her braids and…and he was having a lot of trouble comprehending what she had just told him. He was happy that he had been sitting down for that but also he missed his wheelie chair. Then he could have just rolled away and collected his racing thoughts. But he couldn't. He had to sit there with his thoughts, a little girl who regularly got high, and the guy sitting in the corner with his headphones up way too loud.

Ok. He could handle this and he was not going to freak out.

"So…where do you even….I mean you're ten. How are you even doing this?" asked Hatori

"Shimazaki. Well Minegishi lets me smoke with them sometimes but Shimazaki keeps on getting me pens and stuff. Well Minegishi got me a vape pen too but it's just the normal kind, not the fun kind. How come you don't smoke anything? I thought that was what adults did….well not my dad because he's weird…but most adults. All of my friends do, well not you do most of my friends, and they're all adults." Said Little Sister-sama. Once again there was a lot to unpack there. So Minegishi was into that stuff…well he could try that and then they could have something in common…and also they smoked with a ten year old which was…..something. Well she did have a hard life, Little Sister-sama, and even if she was ten she could still have problems.

Her dad was Suzuki after all.

He was going to accept this as best as he could since, well, there was no alternative. He had already agreed to keeping her secret and he had already made up his mind that he was going to be her friend and pseudo big brother so, yeah, he accepted this. He accept all of this. Who was he to judge, anyway? He had done things that she couldn't even dream of.

Nobody in Claw had clean hands…and not just because some idiot kept stealing all the soap in the bathrooms.

"I've…never had the chance to smoke anything I guess. I mean I have nothing against it, you do you and all that, but I've just never had the chance to do…any of that stuff." Said Hatori

"Oh. Well if I can get away from my dad tomorrow I can smoke you up, Shimazaki taught me that it means share, in the smoking part of the mezzanine. Shimazaki got me a new cartridge and it tastes like citrus. I like citrus but I can't have it because if my brother has citrus he could die." Said Kittle Sister-sama

"Uh…no thanks. I uh…don't think that would be a good idea at work. You know, with your dad being here and all…and also terrifying." Said Hatori

"….you're right. Dad would probably come looking for me. He won't let me leave his side for very long….or sleep in my own bed…" said Little Sister-sama

"Well no shit you're out there getting high!" said Hatori before he could stop himself. He felt like if he had a ten year old, which he didn't because he was nineteen and a virgin, and his ten year old was getting high then he would have done everything in his powers to keep his ten year old near him at all times. People could do whatever they wanted, it was none of his business, but he had to wonder if this was….ok.

But then again he worked for a world domination cult so he really had no room to be throwing stones.

"No, he doesn't know about that. He mostly just keeps me near him because….I'm not sure. He's been weird since last summer. He went away for three weeks and then he came back and promoted me and now he won't let me sleep in my own bed…and also he really likes Minecraft….A LOT…and we have a bunch of Claw bases and sometimes it's fun because he lets me sleep and bosses me around less but also….also it's not because I don't play with you and Sho anymore….and also sometimes I feel like I can't breathe when he's near. I feel like I can't breathe and just….it's hard." Said Little Sister-sama. Hatori did not know what he was supposed to say to that. She was clearly going through a lot, so the whole getting high thing could be forgiven, but also…also this was a lot and Hatori had no clue what to do…

Because there was nothing that he could do.

There was nothing that he could do for her but listen to her. All he could do for her was be there…and from what she had said she needed someone to be there for her. He didn't want to jump to conclusions but the whole not letting her sleep in her own bed thing was…weird. Very weird. She was ten. That was just…weird. He didn't want to think about how weird…or what he would do if she were to tell him if things really were as weird as his brain was saying that they probably were…and also…also just….he didn't know what he could even do.

Besides be there for her.

"That…sounds like a lot. But uh….I'll always be here for you? Wait, no, that was a statement and not a question Hatori Nozomu you moron….just I'll always be there for you if you need someone to talk to or if you just want to take a break from your life for a bit. Ok? We can hang out and talk or we can play games or whatever you want. Alright. Just…uh….you have a friend in me? Yeah, just like the song. You've got a friend in me. Ok?" said Hatori. He took her hand in his so she knew that he was there for her one hundred percent.

She nodded.

She was red and her eyes went wide and she stopped breathing…and that had been a lot for her. That had been a hell of a lot for her…and now he had no idea what to do…well something nice for her, obviously…but what? What could he possibly give the girl that had everything but a normal life and a stable family structure? Materially, he meant.

Oh!

"Hey, Little Sister-san. You're using the Elsa skin for your player character, right?" asked Hatori. She nodded.

"Yes. Thank you for getting it for me. I love blocky Elsa." Said Little Sister-san.

"Well then how would you like….every single princess, queen, and female Disney character ever?" asked Hatori

"Really? Even the ones nobody's heard of? Like princess Eilonwy?" asked Little Sister-sama. He had never heard to that princess before but he was sure that if the skin for that one didn't exist then he could make it exist. He knew that it wasn't much but it made her happy and that was what mattered.

"Sure. Whoever you want. When you and your dad login tonight you'll see. But just give me some time, ok?" asked Hatori

"Ok…and thank you. Um…you-you're a nice person and um…I like you…a lot." Said Little Sister-sama. She was still sort of freaked out about opening up to him about her life, that was alright, he didn't care. He reached over and tussled her hair like you were supposed to do with kids. They were sort of like puppies and kittens in that way.

"Sure thing, Little Sister-sama. What are big brothers for?" asked Hatori. Her aura hiccupped and she nodded there. He would have hung out with her more but he had felt Suzuki's aura moving. If he felt it then she definitely felt it and she had to go before her dad figured out that the line for the women's bathroom wasn't this long….or existent since the only two people who could use it were her and Minegishi….or maybe they just used the men's room…or maybe just the secret bathroom in the custodian's closet….or maybe they were daring and snuck into Suzuki's private bathroom that nobody was supposed to know about. Hatori didn't know and knew that it was not the question to ask. Not Minegishi themselves and not Little Sister-san either.

Even though she was a real wealth of information.

He had no idea what to make of what she told him….so he made nothing of it. So she got high sometimes, her life sucked and she was the Daughter of the most powerful man on Earth. She could do anything. Who the hell was going to stop her? Well her father. Her weird and overbearing father….poor kid. Poor, poor, poor kid.

Well at least he could be there for her in some small way….even if it was just to sit and listen.