Earth worms belonged in the dirt.
Ryou didn't seem to understand that. This was the….they didn't even know….time that he and Mob's little brother had decided that the best place for earthworms was not in the dirt where they could help the soil and, you know, not die a slow and painful death. No, according to those two the best place for earth worms was in Hatori's bed where they could die a quick and painful death when Hatori went to lay down and crushed them.
Those two.
The child brought out the worst in Ryou and Ryou brought out the worst in that child. Ryou seemed to lose any ability to think when he was with Mob's little brother. Maybe he was trying to vicariously live out the childhood that he'd never had, with the beatings and neglect and all, or maybe he was just trying to make Sho's childhood better than his has been, since Sho also had to deal with his fair share of beatings and neglect. Minegishi didn't know. All they knew was that they were kneeling there, in their garden, underneath the unrelenting summer sun. Fucking summer…why couldn't they have done this in the fall?
At least then the sun wouldn't have been beating down on them like this.
"Go on now. Get out of my sight before I change my mind." Said Minegishi as they dumped the bucket of earthworms down into their garden. They just sort of laid there, wiggling a little, and making no effort to save themselves. They were going to just die out there in the sun because they were too stupid or too shocked or just too dry to find their way back into the ground.
"I have to do every single fucking thing around here, don't I?" muttered Minegishi. They reached out and took some dirt in their hands. They covered the worms completely. There. Now they wouldn't die and the garden would live another week….unless those birds got to it. There were birds perched up on top of the house. Minegishi glared at them. They didn't fly away…well of course they wouldn't. Minegishi hadn't done anything. They were tired, they were way too hot, and they just wanted to go back inside and wait for whatever else Ryou and smaller, angrier, red haired version of Ryou had planned. Those two….God….those two….
Minegishi picked a dandelion.
Weeds. Their garden had weeds….and they had no clue how a weed had stated growing out of the ground….and they would deal with that later. They reached out and collected all of the dandelions, blew them out, and sent the seeds flying out to the birds. As the seeds flew Minegishi made them grow up and out…and there. No more birds. They had been smart enough to fly away before Shibata ended up with the ingredients for pigeon pie….or rather blackbird pie. Good. Those birds had better not come back. They had better not have had to hear those blackbirds singing in the dead of night or they'd have to take those broken wings and learn to fly.
Fucking Ryou.
He was in their head. He had been in their head for a while. He had taken up residence rent free in their mind. God. Even now they could just….see him. They could see him, there, beside them. He would sit down and say something like 'how does your garden grow' and then they would laugh, they always laughed, even though he wasn't even that funny. They would laugh and smile and he would know that they were smiling and then he would do something stupid like reach over and touch their face and say something ridiculous like 'I can't believe I forgot how pretty you are, Toshi' and then they would just sit there and let him see them and let him called them 'Toshi' even though they hated it…or they hated it from anyone else….or whatever. They didn't know.
They just knew that they were hot.
They were hot and sweaty and alone and they needed to get out of the sun and get back to the house and the cold and the air conditioning. Ryou was…somewhere in the world. They didn't care where he was. He was probably out collecting more earthworm to put in Hatori's bed or on a plate or something. They didn't know and they didn't care. If Ryou wanted to act like a ten year old then he could act like a ten year old. They didn't care one bit what he did. They didn't care if they saw him or they didn't see him or they just….they didn't know. They didn't care. They cared about…
They cared about that.
There. Across the way. That was what they cared about. They cared about the fact that they could smell smoke, smoking, they could smell someone smoking. The smoke was carried over on the summer breeze…and it was coming from next door…and there was only one person next door who could have been smoking…and that person should have quit a long time ago!
"Damn it, Mob." Said Minegishi. They got up, dusted themselves off, and went over to the next yard. They made themselves a step ladder of grass to get over the fence. It was at that moment that Mob decided to stop smoking. She hid her cigarette behind her back…too little too late. Way too little and way too late. She should not have been smoking. She knew how difficult it was to quit once you started…she knew that firsthand!
They had to stay calm.
For Mob's sake. They were not about to just go over there and star reading her the riot act….even though she knew full well that she should not have been smoking. They weren't her parent, for one thing, and also she just didn't need that in her life. She had her dad to deal with. She did not need Minegishi going over there and snatching the cigarette out of her hand and telling her to vape if she needed to smoke something. The sort that they had gotten her, of course, not the sort that Ryou kept on getting her even though she was eleven and did not need….
Well she did and she didn't.
She did and she didn't need to do the things that she did…and Minegishi slowed down as they walked. She looked like shit. Her aura…her face…all of it. She just seemed….tired. Very tired. Maybe even sick since despite the heat she was all wrapped in that oversized sweater Shibata made her. She was red and sweaty, which contributed to the whole 'looking like shit thing' and Minegishi wondered why she didn't just take off that damn sweater and wear something appropriate for the weather. Unless she was sick or something….but if she was sick then she could have called that healer….but then that would have involved speaking to that damned healer…
And who the hell wanted to voluntarily speak to that room temperature ice cream cone?
Minegishi didn't blame her for waiting out whatever she was sick with…if she was even sick. They honestly couldn't tell. They loved Mob, they really did, but she was just so hard to read sometimes. Even her aura. Like now. She was…sick and tired, it seemed like, or maybe even…there were a lot of boxes out in the yard. They knew what those boxes meant, grocery delivery, and they knew that Mob was the only person in her house who had brains enough to order food…and also the only one who knew that food had to be put away. The boxes…someone had drawn windows…someone had made a fort. Good line work. Steady. Done with a proper artist's pencil…the little brother. So while Mob had been putting food away…and also some scribbles…they knew who scribbled. Ryou always scribbled….he liked the sound of it…
So while Mob had been doing all the housework, as usual, her brother had been dicking around out here with Ryou….wonderful.
"Hi Minegishi….how are you?" asked Mob. They could see smoke coming from behind her back…and they hoped that Mob wasn't about to tell them that her back was on fire or something. Minegishi had been full of righteous indignation…but now they were full of an emotion that they had been told was called empathy. Something that they had read about but almost never had cause to feel…
Poor Mob.
"Fine. Yourself?" asked Minegishi as they came up next to her. She still had her cigarette behind her back…and a pack sticking out of that Frozen bag she was always wearing. No makeup today either, not even eye makeup, which meant that something was definitely wrong. She had been caking that shit on since she'd met that Minori girl…but now she was barefaced and…and way too red…and not just the spots along her eyebrows and hairline.
"I'm ok…um….did you want to hang out today? I can hang out if you want me to. I just finished putting everything away and I made lunch…it's just sandwiches and chips…and I have to iron dad's shirts when they're done in the dryer….but we can hang out if you want us to." Said Mob. She seemed….more monotone than usual. She did have some inflection but you really had to know her to hear it…and Minegishi really knew her. They knew her and they knew that she was…not well.
"Did your brother or Ryou help you at all?" asked Minegishi. That had been a lot for one person, especially a child, to do on her own…and Ryou had better start helping her out if he was going to be hanging out here. He wasn't helpless, he could help out, and also he obviously needed something productive to full his time if he was digging up earthworms and playing in boxes with a ten year old.
"No, Sho's too little and Shimazaki…well I don't know what he was doing but he was teleporting back and forth a lot. I didn't ask." Said Mob
"Well next time at least have Ryou help you if he's going to be hanging around here and making more work for you." Said Minegishi
"He doesn't make more work for me. He makes Sho happy…and stuff…and I want Sho to be happy." Said Mob. There it was. Her worst trait. The constant self-sacrifice. Minegishi had never been able to understand it. She was Suzuki Shigeko. She was the Daughter of the most powerful man on Earth and a powerful esper in her own right. Logically she shouldn't have been the sort to let herself get pushed around, to put so much of her time and energy into taking care of others…but there they were. They would have to figure out how to fix that about Mob…if it was even something that needed fixing. Minegishi didn't know. Their life had taught them that kindness was weakness. Her life had taught her something else. They weren't the same.
"You still deserve help…and if you need help with anything then I'll help you." Said Minegishi. They didn't exactly want to spend their day ironing and folding the President's laundry, actually even the amount of standing that they were doing now was too much, but if Mob needed help then they would help her. Somebody had to.
"I don't really need help…but I would like us to hang out. We could watch that show you like or we could have coffee and read or we could do skin care stuff…because my face feels gross….well my whole body feels gross…." Said Mob. She pulled her sweater tightly around herself when she said that…and Minegishi didn't understand why. Maybe she was following some kind of fashion or maybe she had the chills…or maybe she just wanted to wear the sweater and she didn't care about the heat. Minegishi didn't have a clue as to what went on in that head of hers sometimes…and they wished that they did. This friendship would have been a lot simpler if they had just been able to know what was going on in Mob's head…but then they would have been a telepath and that was the one power set they did not envy.
"Well, yeah, you're wearing a sweater in the middle of June. Of course you feel gross, you're practically melting, why not just take that thing off?" asked Minegishi. Mob shook her head.
"I want to keep my sweater on. I have to keep my sweater on." Said Mob. Well that sounded cryptic as all else. Minegishi wondered if they had another crisis on their hands…and they hoped that they didn't. They were not in the mood for this, not today. Maybe in a couple days they would be in the right headspace for this…no. They had to be in the headspace for it now since Mob needed them and they loved her and other suck emotional reasons.
"Any particular reason why?" asked Minegishi
"Yes." said Mob. There was a moment of silence. Minegishi watched the smoke pouring out from behind Mob's back. They wondered who would break the silence first…and then decided that they did not have time for all of that.
"Do you want to tell me that reason?" asked Minegishi with a sigh.
"Um….I don't know. I just…want to wear this sweater because…because I do. I don't mind it. It doesn't stop me from doing…everything that I have to do. Like the breakfast dishes and the lunch dishes and yesterday's dinner dishes, my sleeves only got a little wet, and the laundry went fine…well my sleeves got caught in the door…and also I caught the sleeves when I was putting Sho's toys away…but I'm fine in my sweater and…um…do you want to do face masks? I think that my skin is getting worse…and I just bought more oatmeal…and also I kind of need your help growing avocados…if you want to help me.
"I'd like that…but first tell me what's wrong." Said Minegishi. Well that was….a lot for a kid. That was more than Minegishi did in their own life and they were a grown adult. It was amazing that the great President Suzuki of Claw, the most powerful cult on Earth, couldn't hire someone to feed his kids and do his laundry. No, he had to have his eleven year old deal with all of that.
His very tired eleven year old.
Mob wiped the sweat from her forehead with her sleeve. She was overheating and tired and…and it was amazing that she was even still standing. Minegishi wondered why she was wearing a heavy sweater in the middle of summer. She knew that Shibata was just happy that she had accepted the gift…right? They didn't know. They'd have to get to the bottom of the whole sweater thing once they got to the bottom of Mob's feelings…
This was shaping up to not be one of their lay down on the couch and bleed out like a slasher movie victim days.
"Nothing." Said Mob. Minegishi sighed. They knew that when Mob said nothing she wasn't deflecting, she really saw it as nothing, and her seeing it was nothing made it something. She was resigned, that was the best word for it, to what her life was now…and she shouldn't have been. She was Suzuki Shigeko. She was the second most powerful esper in the world. Minegishi hadn't even been half as powerful as she was now when they had been her age…
But they were a completely different person than she was.
Mob didn't have a mean bone in her body. Minegishi had done…a lot…by the age of eleven. Things that had never even crossed Mob's mind even though she had every reason to…Mob was not them. Mob was her own person and she dealt with things in her own way. She wasn't about to goof and try and kill her father…even though if anyone deserved to die it was Suzuki. She wasn't a vengeful person. She was…she was the type to escape from her problems, not confront them….
And they had only themselves to blame.
"Mob, come on. You're smoking again. You only smoke when something's wrong, and you're wearing a sweater in June, so tell me what's wrong." Said Minegishi
"I'm just…tired. I had a lot to do last night and this morning…and it's always a lot to do…and stuff." Said Mob
"So I take it that your dad has no plans to stop treating you like his live in maid?" asked Minegishi. Daughter-wife would have been the more accurate term but they didn't want to bring up all of that. Suzuki was weird when it came to Mob…and Minegishi knew that if ever got TOO weird Mob would say something…and then her father would die and it would not be painless death….but there was no reason to get Mob all worried about that shit now. She had enough on her plate as it was.
"No. Maids have to wear uniforms and also they get paid. He treats me more like mom." Said Mob. Well she had just hit the nail on the head…and Minegishi had a few words to say to that…but those would have been harsh words and Mob did not need harsh words right now. She needed to stop smoking, get back into the air conditioning, and she needed to smother her face in mashed up avocado with oatmeal and honey.
"I suppose that he does…treat you like your mother." Said Minegishi. They knew that Mob had heard them the first time when they had told her that her dad was weird as all else when it came to her…and they knew not to press the issue either…even though they really wanted to press it. Press it like they wanted to press those spots on Mob's head until they went away…but of course they knew not to go with their first impulse. Never pop a pimple, that just led to acne scars, and never get someone upset about their situation when there was nothing that they could do about it in the first place. Mob was…she was eleven and Minegishi had been ten when they had been taken away…for various reasons…but Mob's life was completely different from theirs. There was no comparing the two…so why did their mind keep on trying to?
"I'm doing better than mom, I think, because I'm not going to run away. I take good care of my family and I'm never going to run away from them or spend all day sick in bed. I'm doing a good job and dad even says so. That's why I'm in charge of the house and also taking care of Sho….and I think that I'm doing a good job taking care of Sho….I'm not really sure." Said Mob. Minegishi…they weren't in the habit of psychoanalyzing people but that did not sound healthy. It sounded like Suzuki had never managed to get over his wife's passing and now he used his Daughter as wife version 2.0 because he just couldn't cope…and they knew that Mob had said that she ran away from home but, well, that sounded just like what parents told their kids when their pets died.
"Well he shouldn't…and put that thing out. What if he comes home and finds out? You know how he is. You don't want to get caught, do you?" asked Minegishi. Suzuki hated smoking. He hated smoking, drinking, cursing, and about a million and one other things. He loved his Daughter but he also didn't have the best track record when it came to parenting so, yeah, maybe it would be best that he didn't come home unexpectedly and find his eleven year old Daughter chain smoking in the backyard.
"He knows I smoke. I was smoking in the bathroom last night and he said that it was ok." Said Mob
"What in the….what?" asked Minegishi. Well Suzuki Touichirou certainly wasn't even in the running for father of the year. Honestly. Sure, his little girl could drink and smoke and raise her brother and run the household…but god forbid she start to develop an independent sense of self. Oh no, what could be worse than that. If Minegishi had been a stronger esper, and Suzuki had been a weaker on, then they would have killed him long ago. Mob would have been better off as an orphan, or at least an emancipated minor, than she was as Suzuki's daughter-wife. At least she wouldn't have all of this shit to deal…shit enough to make her smoke...
Chain smoke if the crushed filters by her feet were anything to go off of.
"I was smoking in the bathroom because I was tired and hungry and then dad noticed, well first he thought that the house had caught fire, but then I told him that I was smoking and he said that it was ok but only in moderation." Said Mob
"…yeah. Your dad is a real piece of work." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head. He was old but not so old that he didn't know that smoking was addictive and eventually would kill you. Suzuki…if he had been a less powerful esper Minegishi would have had more words…well they did have more words…but these were not words that they were going to share with an eleven year old. She didn't want to hear them say things like that about her father even if they needed saying. Minegishi was not going to put that on her.
"He's a lot of work but I love him…but he is a lot of work sometimes. Everyone is a lot of work sometimes…but it's ok. I love my dad and my brother and my friends and everyone…so it's ok…even if it is a lot of work…and stuff." Said Mob
"Mob….stop smoking." Said Minegishi. That was all they could say to that. They were too hot and too tired to go into why Mob needed to stop setting herself on fire to keep others warm. Maybe when they were feeling better…if there was even enough time in the world to teach Mob about the value of valuing herself.
"But I want to." Said Mob
"Yeah, I know you want to. You're supposed to want to, smoking is addictive, that's how the cigarette companies replace their customers after they die. Newer and younger ones like you. Now stop smoking and get inside of the house so we can crush some avocados, mix them up with some oatmeal and honey, and then just relax and let something else do the work for once. How does that sound?" asked Minegishi. Inside and out of the sun. The felt like an earthworm out of the earth. They needed coolness and darkness and artificially cooled air and they needed it now.
"Minegishi….I would love that…as soon as I finish this cigarette." Said Mob. Minegishi did not consider themselves to be a calm, patient, and understanding human being…but for Mob they would do their best. She was going through a lot and…well she had already started the damn thing and it was burnt down almost to the filter anyway…so why the hell not?
They were probably going to go to hell for this later on, whichever circle was reserved for people who let little girls smoke cigarettes, and they were prepared to deal with that when the end finally came…probably a lot sooner than scheduled since they both felt like telling off Suzuki and also having a smoke.
"Mob….you're killing me." Said Minegishi with a sigh. They let Mob smoke what was left of her cigarette. No sense in having her waste it…and no sense in pissing her off…if she even could get pissed off. She felt more…defeated…than pissed off. Defeated and tired and…and Minegishi wished that there had been more that they could do for her than mash up some avocados with honey and oatmeal and cover her face with them….but that was all they could do. They had a lot of responsibility to her. They had never asked for this, not that they wanted to return it, because…because they just didn't. There was no going back. They were Nob's best friend and they were going to do the best they could…
Even if their best was just…having a spa day.
"Thank you for helping me. I really needed this, my skin has been really bad lately. Minori said-" said Mob. Minegishi shook their head and made some room on the overcrowded bathroom counter for their instruments. They did not want to hear about what Mob's only other kid friend had to see. Her skin wasn't even that bad. After Hatori….and their own adolescence…nothing looked bad anymore.
"You're welcome. You're fine, your skin is fine. Stop listening to that kid." Said Minegishi. Kids. Mob needed another kid friend…but maybe a kid friend who was more like her…not that there were many kids in the world like her. Hell, there weren't a lot of grown people in the world like her.
She didn't deserve this.
The life she led. She should have been happy…but this was not the place for people who'd had happy lives. She deserved a better life than this. Sure she had whatever she wanted but her dad…this bathroom was cleaner than theirs. Mob, an eleven year old child, was responsible for cleaning this bathroom until it shined like God's bathroom must have shined. She didn't need. She didn't need any of the responsibilities that had been placed on her. Minegishi could hear the dryer going. When it was done Mob would have ironing to do…and she didn't need that. She didn't need any of this…
Minegishi would help her out as best as they could.
"But she's my friend." Said Mob
"I'm your friend. I'm your friend and believe me when I tell you that you don't need someone to make you feel worse about yourself." Said Minegishi. They knew that at some point they were going to have to teach her about how mean girls could be to one another. How the aggression was sneaky. Boys, they just kicked the shit out of each other, girls tormented each other until you just wanted to….Minegishi was not a child anymore, that time was over, Mob was the child….and there was only so much that they could do for her. Her life was different, very different, but also very similar…
But Mob was not the sort of person who could tell people to shut their mouths and leave her be.
"You're my friend too, you're my best friend, and Minori…is also my friend. She just…she can be sort of mean but that's just how she is. Sometimes you can be mean to people too. Never to me but you can be mean to other people." Said Mob. She had a point. They knew that they could be something of an asshole…and they could also be something of a hypocrite.
"Mob….fine. Just….take off your sweater unless you want it to get dirty." Said Minegishi as they spread the avocado mixture onto Mob's face. They focused on her problem areas, those spots, but not in a way that would make her self conscious of them. She was getting to that poor body image age and Minegishi would not have a part in making her feel any worse than herself than she already did. She must have considering the sheer amount of makeup that covered her bathroom counter. God, to be eleven again….Minegishi was never going back. They were twenty eight now and they never had to go back.
Eleven was hell.
Well that whole part of life was hell. Even if Mob's dad hadn't been using her as a daughter-wife these years still would have sucked. Minegishi wished that they could have done more…and they were amazed with themselves that they even cared. They had gotten soft in their old age, or maybe because the power of friendship had thawed their frozen heart, or other such clichés. They didn't know. All they knew was that this was the eleven year old that they cared about most in the world and they were going to do their best to make her life just a little bit better.
As best as they could.
"Um….I don't want to. You can get it dirty." Said Mob. She pulled her sweater around herself with her powers while she said that…and it wasn't that cold in here. She didn't….always make sense. Something was…usually she was happy to be able to shed her layer once it got warm out….and she wasn't cold. She was back in normal length socks…but she was in that sweater…so something was wrong.
"Mob, what's up with that sweater…and don't tell me nothing. I've known you since you were eight years old, I know when something's wrong, and when something's wrong with you it eats at me so, please, just tell me what's up." Said Minegishi. They weren't lying. Mob…she had grown on them. They knew that if something was wrong they wouldn't be able to rest. That was just….how they were now. That was just what life was. Life was…this. Caring about someone. Huh. They wondered what a three years younger version of themselves would have said if they could have met the current version of themselves…probably nothing because that would destroy the time space continuum. Or maybe it wouldn't and it would be a lot of 'what the fuck' or whatever. They didn't know.
They kept up with what they were doing.
They sort of wished that they'd had a camera. Mob looked cute, there, with her face all covered in green oatmeal. What she needed was some witch hazel but they didn't want to go back to their room and get it. This was fine. Her skin wasn't that bad. She hadn't been wearing heavy makeup for that long, the damage would be easy to reverse, and they wished that everything else in her life could be fixed so easily….
Because they got the feeling that there wasn't enough oatmeal, honey, and avocado in the world to fix what was bothering Mob.
She was playing with the hem of her sweater now….and that wasn't good. But they had to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her. She had just started with this sweater thing…and it was best to deal with this sooner rather than later. Maybe it was a body image thing….Minegishi pulled at their own shirt…maybe they weren't the best person to help with this. They were as comfortable in their own skin as they ever would be…and they got the feeling that maybe they weren't comfortable enough….or maybe everyone in the world was just as uncomfortable as they were. They didn't know. They didn't care about themselves or the world, just Mob.
Just Mob.
"I just….feel gross." Said Mob
"Well, yeah, you've been sweating into that sweater…and yes, I know that's why they call it a sweater." Said Minegishi. If Ryou had been there he would have said that…and they had no idea why they kept on expected Ryou to be there. He wasn't. God. Rent free. He was living rent free in their mind.
"Oh. I hadn't thought of that….but no. That's not it I just…feel gross. I feel gross because of…stuff. I don't know. Can I put avocado on you now?" asked Mob
"Yeah, come on…and Mob. I get it. You're trying to hide in that sweater. I get it." Said Minegishi. They felt their own baggy t-shirt…and they couldn't fault her for feeling the way she felt. Not when they still felt that exact same way at their age.
"You do?" asked Mob
"Yeah, I do. I…I've been there before." Said Minegishi
"You felt gross sometimes too?" asked Mob. Minegishi….gross was not the word but…but they were here to make Mob feel better, not argue semantics.
"Yeah. Back when I was…where you are now in life. It was like I had…zero control over anything anymore. Just…the way I was, what I was becoming, who I was becoming, the way people were looking at me-" said Minegishi
"That's the worst part…being looked at. I think so, anyway." Said Mob
"Mob…who the hell has been looking at you?" asked Minegishi. They were glad that Mob didn't keep plants in her bathroom. They would have so easily, and so quickly, become murder weapons. Someone was going to die. Mob was eleven years old. Someone had to die…or get blinded….or maimed in some other way. There was no other way. Mob did not need that sort of shit in her life.
"Fukuda." Said Mob. Well then. He was going to die…if he could be killed. He healed fast…but Minegishi could work fast. It would just be a contest to see who could be faster.
"Where is he right now?" asked Minegishi
"Why? What are you going to do to him…your aura looks mad…" said Mob
"It is, I mean I am, but not at you. You are a child and he should not have been looking at you. He can look at me all he wants, I'm a grown adult, but looking at you….no. That is not ok." Said Minegishi
"Please don't hurt him. Shimazaki already hurt him enough….and I don't want him to get hurt again…even if he can be sort of a jerk I don't want him to get hurt. He's…he's nice to Sho and not a lot of people are nice to Sho…and he needs all the niceness that he can get." Said Mob
"So Ryou handled it? And let him live? That doesn't sound like Ryou…" said Minegishi
"He…left Fukuda outside kilometers from home with no shoes on…so maybe he left him out there to die…and stuff. I don't know. I just…don't want Fukuda to get hurt or for you to hurt him or anyone else because of me. Not because of me or because of anyone. I mean he can be a jerk, and he broke Sho's trust, and that made Shimazaki smoke him up but-" said Mob
"Wait…what was that?" asked Minegishi
"He can be a jerk sometimes." Said Mob
"No, after that." Said Minegishi
"He broke Sho's trust. He told dad about Emmy and-" said Mob
"No, at the end. What….what did Ryou do?" asked Minegishi. They must have heard wrong or maybe they were going crazy or…or something. Ryou….he was an idiot but he was not that big of an idiot…yes he was. Minegishi had known him for years, they knew just how stupid he could be, even stupid enough to smoke up the boss's only son. Suzuki may not have given a fuck about his son as a human being but as property….well that was a different matter entirely.
"He taught Sho how to smoke….but don't worry. I'm going to teach Sho about moderation and stuff. That way he won't ever get as stoned, and I think he was stoned and not high since he and Shimazaki ate all of the food in the house, as he ws yesterday. He knows that he can't tell dad, either, because dad wouldn't be ok with him smoking…and it's going to be ok. It seemed like a lot at first to me but…but it's ok. Because I'm going to teach him about moderation just like you taught me about moderation." Said Mob
"Mob….my lessons on moderation have gone in one ear and out the other…so why do you think that your brother is going to listen to you?" asked Minegishi
"Because….because I really want him to…and stuff." Said Mob
"That's not how it works…and you…this shouldn't even be something that you should have to worry about! Just…sorry. Sorry. Ryou is an idiot…and more of a child than you are…and he and I are going to talk-" said Minegishi
"Please don't be mad at him! This was my fault for not teaching Sho how to smoke sooner. I mean I taught Minori before I taught Sho and he's my little brother while she's just my friend…and not a very good one…and-" said Mob
"Mob….what? Her too?" asked Minegishi. Well they had well and truly lost complete control over the situation. They were now personally responsible for an epidemic of soft drug use amongst kids. Mom and dad had always said that the world was a worse place because they had been born…and maybe that hadn't just been verbal abuse. God. This was….they didn't even know what this was…beyond not good…not good at all.
"Yes, but only when we're together to that's moderation. I should have taught Sho about moderation a long time ago but I didn't so, um, that's what I'm going to do now. I should have taught him about moderation a long time ago since…since I was smoking and I had thought that he wouldn't smoke ever but…but he did and I was sort of upset with him, and Shimazaki, and myself but…but now I'm ok….ok-ish…because it's wrong for me to get mad at Sho for doing something that I do all the time." Said Mob. Minegishi…was going to drop this for now. They didn't have a leg to stand on and they were too tired to find one. Mob had a point. She was not going to let herself become a hypocrite just like Minegishi was not going to let themselves become a hypocrite…and the kid….he led a hard life. The beatings, mostly, but Ryou had relayed the terrible things that Suzuki said to his son…and they wondered why he even bothered having kids if he was just going to treat them like garbage.
They had never been able to understand parents.
Even now at the age of twenty eight they could not understand parents. Mob wasn't even their child but they still couldn't understand bringing a person into the world just to treat them like…that. Just to treat them….just to do something other than….other than people. Mob was a person. Mob was a person and they….they cared about Mob and….and this was a lot. This was a lot and they were not going to sit there and tell her that she should not have been smoking with other kids, that Ryou had been a moron to involve her brother in this, and that if anyone needed to get stoned once in a while….or once a day…it was the Suzuki kids. The kids were…they were leading very difficult lives…
And Minegishi had no clue what they were supposed to do in that situation.
"Mob…how does Fukuda factor into all of this?" asked Minegishi with a sigh. One thing at a time. They just had to…to deal with one thing at a time. This was the time to deal with that scented tampon and the fact that he couldn't keep his eyes to himself.
"I made Shimazaki take me to go and save Fukuda and then he said…well they both got into a big fight and Fukuda said…he said that he thought that me and Shimazaki were…were doing stuff…the stuff that you and him do…and it just made me…makes me…still makes me feel…gross." Said Mob
"That….no. You have no reason to feel gross. He should be the one to feel gross. I mean…for the love of God…he accuses Ryou of…which is understandable….but to…to say that to you….I just…I cannot begin to…" said Minegishi. The window grew darker. They were overgrowing the privacy hedge. They were reaching out as best as they could to whatever plant life was around…and that was the closest that they could find. The privacy hedge. Fitting. Perfect. They didn't know.
Well they did know that they could kill a man with that.
And they would kill a man with that…if they even could call Fukuda a man. No man would just…say something like that. Say that…think that…insinuate that…that an eleven year old was….involved with….a thirty, nearly thirty one, year old man…and that was…that was just….who just SAT on that information!? Who just took that sort of information and just sat on it or….or even worse….ATTACKED a not even teenage girl with that….that accusation! Just…Ryou was who he was. He was who he was and, yes, his sense of morality was skewed…very skewed….but it was not THAT skewed. He was not the sort of person who would….and they knew him but Fukuda did not…and Mob….the thought of any of that…SHOULD NOT have been put into her mind!
She had enough to deal with in her life.
She had to deal with her dad's shit and her brother's shit and Claw shit and…and she did not need to sit there hiding in her sweater feeling like shit because some….some sand paper vibrator….THAT ONLY TOOK C BATTERIES….thought that she would just…what? Sleep around…at ELEVEN?! Well Minegishi had been twelve…but that was beside the point! That idiot had still thought that…that she was…she was a CHILD and…and if he thought that a grown man was sleeping with her….then why would he just…sit on this information and not gone to Suzuki with this!?
They were going to have a stroke if they didn't calm down.
"Minegishi…please don't be mad at me…" said Mob. They felt her hand on their wrist….and they held her hand. They had nothing else that they could do, that they could trust themselves to do, and so they just…held Mob's hand.
"I'm not mad at you. You know that I'm not mad at you. Mob, you did nothing wrong. Fukuda is the one who did something wrong. That he would ever think-" said Minegishi
"Don't kill him. Don't hurt him. Please?" asked Mob. They held her hand, and she held theirs right back, and they just…the wanted to kill him. They wanted to find Fukuda and end his life…but they didn't. They didn't because Mob…she didn't need another thing to worry about. Minegishi would end his life later, they didn't know how or when, but knew that he was a dead man…
But Mob didn't need to know that.
"Fine. He lives another day…now come on. My turn." Said Minegishi. Mob didn't need to know what they were planning on doing. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day….one day Fukuda would get his. He had signed his own death warrant when he had said that about Mob…and they were not exaggerating. They would do this for Mob…later. Not now.
But later. When enough time had passed that he got complacent in his life. Then they would come for him. They would do what they had to do to help…and if they had to end the life of that human earthworm then so be it.