There was a one kilo block of dark chocolate in Minegishi's room.
They had found it on their doorstep that morning. This had been a gift from President Suzuki. He had given them this and….well they were going to eat it. This was a food and food was meant to be eaten so that was what they were going to do. This was…well it was weird as hell but…well it was just a thank you for taking care of Mob in her time of need…and also in general. They had been taking care of Mob for a while now….sort of like a babysitter or something….
Minegishi was not a babysitter….and Mob didn't need one anyone.
Minegishi was Mob's friend. They had started out as her babysitter/chlorokinesis teacher but had wound up as her friend…and they were happy with the way things were now. They had an eleven year old best friend. Someone to waste the days away with….which was good because they had literally nothing else to do with their days. They used to travel to exotic places and kill exotic people. Now they went wherever the Suzuki family went and killed time with their eleven year old best friend.
And they wouldn't have had it any other way.
It went without saying that they would gladly spend their days with Mob, out of all the people they were forced to spend time with Mob was the most mature and had the most sense, so it was just…odd that Suzuki had felt the need to tell Minegishi to look after Mob. To watch over her as if she was their own child. Those were his exact words. As if he were their own. Minegishi….was not going to expend precious energy trying to understand how that man's mind worked. There was no understanding it. He was a weirdo plain and simple.
So, of course, he would do weird things.
"Mob, stop making faces. It's not that bad." Said Minegishi as they broke off another piece off of the massive block of unsweetened dark chocolate. This was good chocolate, no sugar, but that was only Minegishi's opinion, it seemed, based on the faces Mob had been pulling all day.
"It's not bad at all…I mean it's nice…because dad got you this…and he's a nice person…so it's nice." Said Mob as she ate a piece of the giant chocolate block dad had gotten Minegishi. She had told dad what they would have liked, chocolate and a new door and a book and stuff, and now they had all of that stuff…and that was so nice of him. He could be nice when he wanted to be and maybe if he was nice enough times people would like him better….or at all.
"Yeah….why did he do this for me again?" asked Minegishi. If anyone knew the inner workings of Suzuki's mind it was his Daughter. They had woken up to a new door and a massive block of chocolate and zero explanation. Not that their great and powerful leader needed to explain himself to the mere mortals who surrounded him or anything like that, no, that would have been too much.
"Because you helped me when I got my period. He said that he wanted to reward you and I told him about things you wanted." Said Mob as she tried to eat some more of the very bitter chocolate…and it was hard…but she was going to because Minegishi was sharing this with her and she was going to be polite to her friend.
"Well that would explain the chocolates and the solid metal door." Said Minegishi. They glanced over at their new, and unnecessarily strong, door. They doubted that it could keep Mob's little brother out if he really put his mind to it, or he got Ryou to teleport him in, but it was the thought that counted…and Minegishi…well they still didn't fully understand the thought. Suzuki gave out promotions, not chocolates and doors, and this was…very…strange. Strange but…well not worrying…at least they didn't think that they needed to worry. They were probably just looking way too much into this…not that there was even anything to look into.
"It can't be kicked down. Now nobody will ever be able to get into your room again…and I'm sure that if he was here then he would have told you that he was sorry." said Mob. She knew that Sho hadn't meant it, he had just been scared, but she also knew that him being scared didn't change what he did to Minegishi. She was going tell him that he had to say sorry…but later. She had barely gotten him to leave her alone today. Not that she wanted to be apart from him or anything, no not at all, but he had been trying to carry her around and chew her food for her…and that had been too much. She was fine. She wasn't dying, she knew that she wasn't dying, and she had told Sho that she wasn't dying….but he didn't believe her. Boys could be weird about this, Minegishi had said, and Mob….well she would let Sho be weird since this was not the thing to talk to her little brother about.
"Somehow I doubt that." Said Minegishi. They knew that Mob's little brother wasn't sorry…and they didn't care. They were not going to chase down a ten year old for an apology. He had been freaking out and, yeah, he had kicked down their door like a little Minegishi didn't even know what…but he was being raised by a child so he could be excused…for now. While he was a little boy. One day he would grow up and then he would get his…or not. It depended on if Minegishi was still pissed about this in ten years.
"No, he would say sorry…if I made him. I mean asked him. I don't like to be bossy but Sho listens to me…a lot of the time." Said Mob. Sho had been doing a lot of listening lately. He had even listened when she told him to go and hang out with Shimazaki and to stop trying to carry her around on his back, which had been annoying, and also he had tried to chew her porridge for her and that had been way too much. She could still walk and eat and…and he meant well, he loved her, but she could do things for herself…and at least he had eventually figured out how to listen.
"You don't have to make him apologize. Just help me eat this before either the ants get to it…or Ryou does." Said Minegishi. They knew that he was near. They could feel him as he popped into the kitchen. This would not last long with him around. One day he was going to have to address his relationship with food with a trained professional….and all of his other idiosyncrasies…..but today was not that day. No. He wouldn't be addressing any of his deep emotional and personality problems anytime soon.
But he would be teleporting into their room.
"What's Ryou doing?" asked Shimazaki. He'd heard his name. He had to come when he heard his name, otherwise there was no point to having a name in the first place. He was just supposed to come in, get what was left of the homemade bread, and then get back to the park so he and Sho could feed the poor starving birds. He could take a little bit of a detour to see Toshi, though, the kid would understand….well no, actually, he wouldn't…so Sho didn't need to know about this. He didn't need another reason to dislike Toshi.
There. Ryou was handling it.
He was handling this whole thing. He had everything under control. Sho was in love with him, so what? Sho was jealous of Toshi….so what? It wasn't like Sho was planning on murdering Toshi in their sleep or anything like that. So far it was just a lot of staring and pining and also he'd been sitting way too close and stuff lately…but Shimazaki was handling it. Something doing nothing was the best way to handle it. He would just do nothing until Sho got over him. Yes, that was what he would do…absolutely nothing…
And also figure out what in the hell was on Toshi's lap.
"Hopefully not stealing this block of chocolate from me." Said Minegishi as they broke off another piece of chocolate. Ryou got down onto the floor beside them. He was such a scavenger sometimes. They knew that at any moment he would reach out and hold out his hand and then they would break him off some chocolate….if he didn't steal it from them….but he never stole food from them. He knew better.
"Hey Shimazaki….where's Sho?" asked Mob as she scooted over and made room for Shimazaki. She spread her aura out…and she didn't feel him anywhere. That wasn't good. Well she didn't want him to try and pick her up and carry her again…or try and chew her food for her like she was an old person…but she liked having some idea of where he was…and if he was safe.
"Let him somewhere." Said Shimazaki with a shrug. He knew where Sho was, and he knew that he was fine, and she didn't have to worry about Sho. Shimazaki would never have let anything bad happen to him…well that tree was pretty tall….but Sho was like a cat. He usually landed on his feet.
"What…what do you mean?" asked Mob. Sho…he was smart but…but the city was big and he was small and so many things could happen to him…and she didn't want anything bad to happen to her little brother. She loved him and…and she knew that Shimazaki loved him too…but he also wasn't that good at taking care of people….and Sho wasn't that good at taking care of himself.
"He's going to be fine. Come on, have faith in your little brother." Said Shimazaki. Sho wouldn't fall out of the tree….and if he did he could always catch himself with his powers….or land on his feet. He'd be fine. Right now….well he wasn't ditching Sho…he just…wanted to know what Toshi and Mob were up to. He hadn't seen Toshi in a while. Well he'd slept next to them but they had been asleep when he crawled into bed next to them and they had been asleep when he got up, too. They may have slept badly or they may have gotten up in the middle of the night to read….he didn't know. It was just nice to see them….well to be near them….really nice….
God, he loved them so much.
"But-but-but he's little and…and anything can happen to him and-" said Mob. She was…she was not going to lose control of her powers. He loved Sho and he wasn't going to let him get hurt…he loved Sho and Sho loved him…they were best friends and best friends did not let bad things happen to each other…and she just…she was worrying about nothing. She had been doing that a lot lately. Because of everything that was happening and…and she could not wait for all of this to be over.
"Ryou, where the hell is Mob's little brother?" asked Minegishi rubbing their temples. They could feel Mob freaking out…and they did not need to deal with Mob freaking out. They had barely managed to get her ok with everything that she was going through. She did not need to worry about her little brother's wellbeing on top of worrying about herself.
"Relax, he's in a tree. We found a whole family of birds and we're going to feed them chewed up bread." Said Shimazaki. He could feel Toshi and Mob staring at him…and yeah, he knew that it was weird, but it was Sho's idea and sometimes kids had weird ideas. They were fun like that….and also it all made perfect sense. The whole thing made the best sense. Baby birds couldn't chew, because they had no teeth, so why not chew up their bread for them?
"Oh…ok. Please keep Sho safe….and out of the sun….and make sure he drinks plenty of water. He liked to drink soda instead of water but soda doesn't hydrate you like water does." Said Mob. She knew Sho and she knew that he didn't always remember to take care of himself. He was outside in the sun and he had probably been drinking soda instead of water and he had probably not taken off that coat that he had been wearing nonstop for a while…and also he sometimes fell out of trees, too, and now she had to worry about that and….
And she had a lot to worry about.
She had to worry about dad and how weird he'd been since they smoked together and she had to worry about herself and…well she had a lot of stuff about herself to worry about….and now she had to worry about Sho. Well she never stopped worrying about Sho, he was her little brother after all, but now….well now she had extra stuff to worry about. She didn't want anything extra to worry about. She had enough on her mind as it was…
She just wanted to hang out with Minegishi and eat bitter chocolate.
"Water is a liquid and soda is a liquid and rum is a liquid therefore rum coke is water. Now who wants some?" asked Shimazaki pulling a bottle of what was supposed to be half rum and half coke. Supposedly. He hadn't been paying attention to what he had been doing. He had been too focused on Toshi and how they had been asleep and how peaceful they were when they were asleep….love was hard sometimes. He would have thought that, once he admitted it to himself, it would have gotten better. It hadn't gotten better when they had said it back, either, if anything it had gotten worse. This was love. This was love and it just…did not quit. Love was…a lot of things…and it just wouldn't quit.
"Thank you Shima-" said Mob. She reached out for the bottle but Minegishi grabbed her by the wrist and shook their head. Mob…well they had said that she could drink and smoke as much as she wanted…and now they had changed their mind. Mob…was not going to fight with them. She was going to listen because….friends weren't supposed to fight. Even though they drank all the time and especially when this happened to them. She didn't know why they were treating her like a kid. Sometimes it felt like no matter how much older she got Minegishi would never stop treating her like she was a little kid. Well she wasn't. She was older, old enough to go through the same stuff that they went through, and old enough to smoke up her dad too…
But she wasn't going to fight with Minegishi.
"Sugar is poison and alcohol is poison so maybe let's not poison ourselves." Said Minegishi. Nope. Well…well not now. Mob…they had taught her a really bad coping mechanism. She was eleven and….and maybe they shouldn't have encouraged her to take up drinking. Another mistake that they could add to their never ending supply. Maybe they could backtrack….or maybe they couldn't. They knew what Mob was going through but….not hard liquor mixed with sugar water. Sugar would just make it hit her harder and then she would just end up making herself sick. Yes. That made sense.
"Come on, Toshi, let her live a little." Said Shimazaki shaking the bottle of rum coke. As far as he was concerned Mob was old enough to make her own choices when it came to this stuff. Besides, it was better she learn to drink now when she was a kid than she end up making a fool out of herself as an adult. She had been drinking since she had been eight and she was good at holding her liquor…so why not let her drink to her little heart's content?
"She'll live a lot longer if she doesn't poison herself." Said Minegishi. Ryou didn't even know the meaning of the word responsibility. Well neither had they…and if their past self could see them now they would have thought that they had lost their mind. They weren't their past self, though, they were their current self and they had to think about Mob and what was best for her…and really they would rather have had her been a little stoner than a little lush. At least she couldn't end up pickling her liver through smoking.
"I smell chocolate, Toshi, and last I checked chocolate has a shit ton of sugar in it." Said Shimazaki. He leaned forward and smelled…..yup. That was a hell of a lot of chocolate. Not the kind he was into but…well he loved chocolate. It smelled like…like chocolate. That was all. He was not remembering another depressing scene from his terrible childhood. He was fine. He was safe. Toshi was there and he was there and he was safe.
"No this chocolate doesn't have sugar in it…" said Mob. She couldn't help but stick out her tongue. She knew that Minegishi liked food that wasn't very sweet, like dad did, unless they were stoned, also like dad, but Mob liked food that was…well not everything had to be sweet…but she liked it when her chocolate was sweet.
"Let me try that." Said Shimazaki. He reached over and Toshi handed him a piece of chocolate…so that was the big rectangle that they had been holding. His hand brushed theirs. He let his barrier drop for a split second. Just long enough to feel their skin…it was soft but also vaguely sticky…but still so Toshi and if Mob hadn't been in the room…
But she was in the room so he ate the chocolate and did nothing at all to traumatize Mob in any way.
"You aren't going to like it." Said Mob. She knew that he liked sweet chocolate, well all sweet food, just like Sho did and she knew that he wouldn't like this…and he didn't like it. He stuck out his tongue and his aura got all close, closer than normal, and it didn't seem that funny but Minegishi was smiling a lot…and they were smiling at Shimazaki…and maybe they weren't smiling to make fun of him but instead because they were totally and completely in love with him and they wanted to be his theyfriend and marry him even though they didn't like marriage and relationships and then they would be happy for the rest of their lives together and they'd have babies and they'd let Mob watch the babies, probably because she was very good at taking care of babies.
"God, you were right. Bitter…why is this so bitter?" asked Shimazaki as he rubbed his tongue against his teeth. He felt Toshi shrug. God, this was such a Toshi thing…they didn't really like sugar until they did. They had said, before, that they liked bitter things because they matched how they were on the inside. He had no idea what they had been talking about. They were the sweetest person, well non Mob person, that he knew. He could have leaned over and kissed them and he would have tasted something sweet, not something better, because they were so sweet….and now he wanted to kiss them. He wanted to kiss them but Mob was right there and, well he didn't care, but Toshi did. Toshi didn't want to throw wood into the fire that they called 'the shippening' and Shimazaki….well he didn't really get it. Let her ship them, they loved each other, and that…well he would have gone and shouted it from the rooftop again but Shibata had threated to come up there and shut him up if he did that again….and he could move really fast when he wanted to...but he didn't care.
He loved Toshi, Toshi loved him, and that was what mattered the most out of everything else that had ever mattered ever.
"Because Minegishi says that sugar is poison…and they aren't high enough to forget that they don't like sugar." Said Mob. She didn't get it either. At least they weren't eating unripe berries and unsweet cheesecake, though, that had been gross. Mob…she wondered if dad had a sense of taste. A normal one. She remembered that, well for as long as she could remember, dad had always hated sweet food. Mom used to make him pancakes with no sugar at all in them, which was gross, but she had told dad that he couldn't put ketchup on them because that was super gross. Mob never told dad that he was gross…or that not everything needed ketchup…or that he was just weird. She would never have said that to her dad…and she would never have said that to her best friend either…even though Minegishi eating bitter chocolate wasn't anywhere near as weird as dad and just….everything about his eating habits.
"Yeah….that's all you guys. If you guys want me to pick you up a giant bar of normal chocolate give me a call. If not I have a bread delivery to make." Said Shimazaki. He could be alone with Toshi later. He'd hold them and kiss them….if they were up to it. If not they could cuddle and listen to music…or he could lay down with his head on their lap and they could read to him while he chewed on a dinner candle…yeah. That would have been the best. That is if he could get Sho to go home before his bedtime…not that he didn't love Sho….he just loved Toshi too and in a totally different way that Sho could never know about or he would probably lose it and finally kill someone.
"It's ok, you don't have to bring us chocolate. I'm sure if I ask my dad he'll get us another giant bar so you don't have to worry." Said Mob. She knew that sending Shimazaki out on his own to get things was always a bad idea. He didn't always know what he was getting and he felt bad, well she figured that he felt bad, when he came back with the wrong thing. She never wanted to make her friends feel bad….especially after the friendship party that they had thrown her. She had been worried, for a minute, that they had thrown her something weird like a period party but people didn't throw those. There was nothing about this to celebrate and her friends may have all been boys but they at least knew that.
"Aww….see Mob? He does care about you." Said Shimazaki with a shake of his head. If he hadn't known Suzuki as well as he had, and he didn't know him well at all and he didn't have to, he would have thought that it was sweet. Like he was finally doing a dad thing and getting his daughter some chocolate for her ketchup packet times. Well he had but knowing Suzuki he had his own crazy, weird, or both reasons for doing what he did. Still though, that was nice, and maybe he had gotten his weirdness out by getting her bitter chocolate.
"I know he does…he told me a bunch of times…but this isn't for me. This is for Minegishi." Said Mob. She got the feeling that she had said the wrong thing. Shimazaki opened his eyes….and she wanted to look away but she wasn't going to because she was his friend and she didn't want to make him feel bad…and also it might have been her fault. His eyes were opened and his eyebrows were up really high and his aura was all….visible….and Minegishi was shaking their head…and she had no idea what she had even said. She knew that she was clueless when she came to this stuff, well Minori called it being socially challenged, but she couldn't see what she had said wrong. She had just said what had happened, that was all, nothing extra.
"Suzuki…is getting you chocolate?" asked Shimazaki. That was…Suzuki did not give gifts. He gave you a raise, he promoted you, and he took care not to kick you in the face but he did not give people gifts…and not chocolates…and not someone's favorite chocolates either. Toshi…if they wanted chocolates then he would have gotten them all the chocolate in Japan if they had asked him.
"He also put a new door onto my room." Said Minegishi. Ryou….was…they didn't even know what he was. He had better have just been shocked and not jealous. He could be jealous sometimes…and he had no right to be. He knew what they were. They were two people in love who lived together, had sex, and also raised someone else's kids. They were…well they had never defined the relationship….whatever they were now….but if the time came they were not going to promise monogamy or as for it either…..and either way it was a moot point because they weren't even the least bit attracted to Suzuki!
"He's….getting you doors now too?" asked Shimazaki. That was…he was….he needed space. He needed space and he needed air and he needed to get back to Sho and…and he needed to do some deep soul searching to figure out what in the hell was the matter with him. Toshi…could fuck whoever they felt like….even if that person was Suzuki…and….and why they wanted to fuck Suzuki he would never know…not that they were fucking Suzuki….
He leaned in close.
They smelled like chocolate. They smelled like chocolate and rosewater and…and him. God, they really smelled like him…and they did not smell like Suzuki…and he had no idea why he even cared if they smelled like Suzuki or not. They could smell like whoever they wanted to smell like and they could fuck whoever they felt like. He didn't own them and they didn't own him and….and he didn't even know why he cared. He and monogamy did not mix and Toshi was the same way…and if this had been a stranger then…well then he wouldn't have felt like this….whatever THIS was…and he just…he didn't know. He really just did not know.
He didn't even know what there was to know…but he knew that he did not know.
"And dad said that he was going to get them that book they wanted, too, because they're so nice to me and they take good care of me." Said Mob. She…well she had been trying to help…but she got the feeling that she had just made everything worse. She got the feeling that there was something that she was supposed to know…but she didn't know. All she knew was that the atmosphere was really weird right now and she didn't have the first clue as to why.
"Toshi….what is even….?" Asked Shimazaki. He almost teleported away there but he stopped himself. This was…he did not like this feeling. He reached into his coat pocket and finished off his tiny bottle of rum and coke. There. Now he felt…well vaguely sick because the ratio to coke to rum tasted more like 70/30 than 50/50 but…well at least being vaguely sick to his stomach from drinking was better than being vaguely sick to his stomach from the thought of Suzuki….actually trying to….
Ryou. Stop. Thinking.
"Ryou, stop it. You're being a moron. I love you, ok? Now go get Mob's little brother out of that tree before he falls out and Mob ends up an only child." Said Minegishi. God. Ryou could be so ridiculous sometimes…but at least he could take a hint…and a direct order. He teleported away back to the kitchen and then out of the house. Minegishi went back to picking at their chocolate bar…and they made it a point to ignore Mob. They felt Shimazaki's aura until he left, followed it, but they made it a point to ignore Mob….
And the way her aura was lit up like Christmas time.
"Minegishi…" said Mob. She felt….this was the greatest moment of her life. This moment, this one moment in time, was going to be etched into her mind for the rest of her life and probably after she died and turned into a spirit, too. This was….this was the best….this was…..THEY WERE IN LOVE! MINEGISHI AND SHIMAZAKI WERE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER! THEY WERE GOING TO BE BOYFRIEND AND THEYFRIEND! THEY WERE GOING TO GET MARRIED AND HAVE BABIES AND-
And Mob couldn't breathe.
The plants beside her were growing out of their pots…she was doing that on accident….and also the dirt was flying in the air and….and also the windows were slamming open and shut and….and Minegishi was just EATING CHOCOLATE!? They could eat chocolate whenever they wanted to! Didn't they understand why this was the most amazing thing to ever happen to them!? To the both of them!? Minegishi had a boyfriend! That was almost as good as Mob having a boyfriend! They had someone to love and…and kiss and…and marry and…and-and-and-and-and-
And this was the greatest thing to ever happen to the two of them in the history of ever!
"Mob. Calm the hell down." Said Minegishi. They had just said that to calm Ryou down and shut him up. He had a jealous streak that they would have to deal with later. Later being a time which was not now. Now was chocolate eating time. Now was not the time for them to sit there with Ryou and hash out all of their relationship problems…and they weren't even in a relationship….and they didn't have problems! Their relationship…situationship….their whatever it was…was fine! Everything was fine and….and…and they did not want to think about this!
They just wanted to sit on their bedroom floor and eat chocolate and not even think about their relationship or situationship…or whatever.
"I…am going to try but….YOU HAVE A BOYFRIEND!" shouted Mob….and she hadn't set out to shout but….but they had a boyfriend! Minegishi having a boyfriend was almost as good as her having a boyfriend and…and Shimazaki had been in love with them for a while…and he was tall and nice and he smelled good and always shared…and he was just….he was just the best! For them, that is, because he was their boyfriend and also future husband….and she hoped that they let Mob be the flower girl in their wedding! If they even had that kind of wedding….THERE WAS GOING TO BE A WEDDING!
"Mob…really. Calm down." Said Minegishi as their room got trashed…and it was an accident…they knew that it was an accident but….seriously Mob? Why do you have to be this way?
"You….you're in love! You and Shimazaki are in love and….and can I be in your wedding?! What kind of wedding are you going to have? Oh! If you have a regular one can I be the flower girl? Or…or are you going to have a Shinto wedding? Or are you-" said Mob
"Who the hell said that I was getting married? I don't believe in marriage and….and I'm an atheist…and just…Mob, you need to calm down." Said Minegishi as they sighed. Mob…needed a boyfriend. She needed some kid her own age to go on cute little eleven year old dates with and hold hands with and kiss and whatever else she felt like so she could just stop living through people. This wasn't healthy for her, first of all, and second of all Minegishi wasn't even in a relationship….or maybe they were….they didn't know. They didn't want to think about this now. They just…wanted to eat chocolate. Was that really so much to ask?
"But….sorry. I just…this is the greatest moment of my life! You and Shimazaki are finally together and…and this is the best thing ever. I mean…you're in love and people who are in love get married and have babies…and I know that you said that you didn't want to get married or have babies but….well why would you be in love if you didn't want that?" asked Mob. She forced her powers to calm down. She put the dirt into plants that hadn't broken and…and she would fix it all later…but right now she just…she was so happy for them!
"Listen….I love him and he loves me. We love each other and….we haven't had any talks about it yet and…and even if we did I wouldn't marry him. Mob….listen. There are different ways to be in love and different types of relationships…and me getting into whatever this is should not be the greatest moment of your life. You finding your own boyfriend should be the greatest moment of your life." Said Minegishi
"But….I'm never going to find a boyfriend, Minegishi, not ever. I just…I don't know any boys who aren't my friends already…and older…and the boy that I do like…well he doesn't like me back…at least I don't think so." Said Mob
"Hatori again?" groaned Minegishi. Why couldn't she quite him? Ok, fine, his skin had cleared up and his personal hygiene could be described as passable….but still! What did she SEE in him? He was twenty years old, first of all, and second of all he was just….Hatori. He was Hatori and he just….they would never understand Mob's taste in men for as long as they lived. Of course their own taste in partners was just as odd so many people who lived in glass houses shouldn't go throwing stones at eleven year old girls.
"….maybe. I don't know. He's just so…he's nice and…and you're right, I do think that he's attractive and…and also he doesn't like you anymore…but you're right. He's older than me and….and he'd probably want someone who looked…older." Said Mob. She looked down at her chest. She knew, from the books that Minegishi had gotten her, that they would get bigger…she hoped so. Minegishi hardly even had…well she shouldn't have been looking at Minegishi's breasts…and also she should have been happy with what she got…but she knew that Hatori probably wanted someone who looked like…well like an actual woman. Not a little girl…not that Minegishi looked like a little girl…or a woman…they looked like themselves and…and they looked nice. Even dad thought that they looked pretty…and they did in their own way….and Mob…she just wanted to look pretty in any way at all.
"Yeah…he had better want to date someone his own age…but you'll meet someone someday. Maybe when you feel better we can go out where guys are and you can practice talking to them. How about that?" asked Minegishi. They were the one who was going to have to teach Mob everything important…so back to it, they supposed. They were going to be her wingman and teach her how to pick up eleven year old boys…eh, it was better than sitting around reading books and waiting or tomorrow to happen.
"I….I think that I'll just….watch you and Shimazaki for now. I mean…that would be better." Said Mob. Meet….boys? No. No meeting boys. What would she even say to them? What would she do? She just…she couldn't have a boyfriend. She was only supposed to fall in love with other espers, first of all, and second of all she couldn't have a boyfriend because she would have to leave him when she moved. Dad had been talking about going to Osaka for something…and she didn't want to move again. Not for a while. She liked being in Japan, and in Tokyo, and also….also moving all the time was kind of hard. It would have been even harder if she'd had to leave a boyfriend behind. Sho had to leave Emmy behind and it made him sad, so sad that he almost never talked about her, and Mob…she didn't know if she could leave a boy behind.
Even if he was an esper, and someone who dad liked, she couldn't just fall in love with some boy and leave him behind. That would have been too sad.
"Mob…I love you but…don't live through me. You need to live your own life and you need to…just not live through me. Ok? You're going to meet a guy and he's going to be just as crazy about you and you're going to be crazy about him and maybe you'll get married and have a dozen kids just like all of your domestic fantasies, ok? Now come on, help me finish this chocolate before the ants get to it…or Ryou comes back. Ok?" asked Minegishi. Please, for the love of God, let it be ok. They just…they were glad that Mob wasn't a moody, crampy, mess but….but also they just did not want to have to get into this with her. She was eleven. She was in the worst part of puberty. She just…could not help it. She couldn't help it and Minegishi could not get pissed off….but what they could get was exhausted.
"Ok." Said Mob. She just…she wanted that. She wanted that more than anything. She wanted a boyfriend who could love her and…and hold her hand…and let her kiss him…and all of that stuff. She just…she would never have that. At least not until she was old enough that there were espers her age. Kids hardly ever awakened. Most espers were around Hatori's age and…and she just…she didn't know if she was going to be able to wait that long….but she would have to wait…
And she could kill some time by eating chocolate.
"Good, now here. You can-" said Minegishi as they reached out to keep their plants alive….and they would have had those walk over into some new pots and had Mob put some dirt in but she was still looking up at them and her eyes were brimming with hope….way too much hope.
"But…if you guys were to have a wedding…what kind would it be?" asked Mob. She just…wanted to know. That was all. She wasn't going to do anything crazy like buy a ring and hide it in Minegishi's food at dinner time so that when they ate they would find it and think that Shimazaki had asked them to marry him and then once they realized how much they loved him they would marry him and then they could have a baby, mom had said that only married people could have babies, and then they could call the baby Shigeo or Shoko or Souichirou or Elsie or Sekkie or Imoto or Ryoko or Toshiko or….well Mob had a lot of names that she liked that they might have liked too…if they were planning on having babies…which they weren't…even though they would have made the best parents ever.
"Mob….." groaned Minegishi. Nope. Not now. They were not going to get into this. They were just….not getting into this. They just…they had just helped Mob through one crisis and they did not need to start another. Mob was happier now, which was good, since Minegishi had always had their fear in the back of their mind that Mob was going to go all Carrie at the prom on them when she finally got her period and Mob being happy….well that was good. Even if she was happy about something that had nothing to do with her. Minegishi realizing their own stupid feelings should not have been the greatest moment of her life. She needed to make her own greatest moment. Minegishi would help her with that….later.
There was a massive block of dark chocolate in their room…and they were going to eat it…preferably with Mob's help.