Suzuki Touichirou did not understand the internet.

Well he did and he didn't. The internet was, essentially, an infinite information network and one that he had gotten lost in many, MANY times before. You could learn literally anything on the internet. Some of it was true, some of it was not, some of it was useful, the vast majority of it was not, but there was always something to learn. He'd been there since….how old had he been? About sixteen or seventeen when father showed him how computers could talk to other computers…and then he'd gotten into that very long argument about the validity of Pluto as a planet with…well he couldn't remember who but it had been very important at the time. That was another use for the internet, connecting people to other people.

That wasn't something he understood.

Arguing with people he understood, well back in his arguing days, and learning things from other people was also something that he understood. Thanks to the magic of the internet you could be connected with experts from all over the world….and yes, Suzuki was willing to admit when he was not an expert in something. He understood experts in their fields all coming together and sharing ideas, that was totally understandable, what he didn't understand, though, and what he never would understand was….the more social side of the internet.

Specifically the side where people informed the world of every single waking moment of their lives.

"Hatori, explain this better." Said Suzuki. He knew that this was a thing that people did, take pictures and then post them on the internet for the world to see, but he didn't get it. He'd seen Shigeko doing this exact same thing. Meals she'd eaten, landmarks, things that she saw out in the world which she found amusing….and he just didn't understand…maybe because he was a man. It wasn't an age thing, no, Sakata Shiori was only four years younger than he was but she did the exact same thing that Shigeko did.

Not that he was complaining.

When he'd been a child, well an adolescent, and a young adult as well if he'd wanted to learn more about a woman he'd had to either follow her around or send Fukuda to follow her around. Fukuda was very good at following people around and taking notes on them. When he felt that he had sufficient knowledge of whoever it was that he had been learning about, things she liked and places she went and other information of that nature, he would get her something that she would like or run into her at locations she frequented, and then either she would be receptive to him or she would tell him to leave her alone….

God, he felt like an adolescent again.

"Explain what, President Suzuki?" asked Hatori as he stopped scrolling down. He had already explained Facebook, and how someone Suzuki's age didn't know about Facebook Hatori would never know, but he would explain it again if he had to. This was a normal part of his job, information gathering on potential new talent, though he'd never done it with President Suzuki looking over his shoulder. Literally. There wasn't a lot of space between them right now…and Hatori needed to get a couple of auxiliary monitors for his laptop one of these days. He sort of missed personal space. He sort of missed being able to work on his own, too, but this was what it was to be friends with President Suzuki. You got your personal space invaded and your work micromanaged…at least he figured that this was a work thing. This woman was an esper, kind of a powerful one, so of course Suzuki would want to know more about her so he could recruit her.

That was option A anyway.

Option B was the he liked her and he was Facebook stalking her. He had been really weird, sort of nervous and out of it, at the war meeting…but that didn't mean anything. Maybe he'd just been having an off day or something. He couldn't be into that woman….right? He was always going on and on and on about how he was married…but then again he was just as human as everyone else. Maybe he had found his other half, finally, and he was going to give up world domination because the power of love, or just a cute girl…err…..attractive woman, was into him…not that anything had happened…not that anything would happen….

Because, really, that would have just been….weird.

"The internet. Explain it to me." Said Suzuki. More specifically he needed this part of the internet explained to him. Shiori…no, Sakata. Sakata because he didn't know her. He didn't know her and he could not just refer to her by her given name, even in his own mind, because that would have been horrifically impolite. Her name was Sakata until she gave him permission to call her Shiori…even though he was the President of Claw but…well he was still a polite human being and…and they wouldn't even be in a situation where she would ask him to call her Shiori!

Even if they did both really enjoy the meals of breakfast and brunch.

"The…whole internet? Because that's going to take a while….but ok. So the internet started in the sixties actually as-" said Hatori. Well they could have one of their long history talks. Better that than Hatori maybe accidentally asking him if he had a thing for this woman. She seemed like his type. Brainy, about his age, went to brunch all the time. Heh. Suzuki with a girlfriend…or even a thing for a girl. That was…well that must have happened before, he had two kids after all, and there was that wedding ring he played with sometimes….but his wife had been gone for years.

Hatori knew. He had been on the team that had been looking for her.

He'd barely been in Claw when there had been the big panic, that was what the Awakened called it, when everyone had to look for this woman. Masami. Suzuki's wife….not that he told anyone that she was his wife. He mostly just yelled at people to find her and also called them names when they couldn't…and also there had been the group that he had ordered to slap each other because he was too disgusted with them to do it. Hatori hadn't been part of that group. He had been a part of the 'useless and incompetent' group. They'd just had to stand in the corner and think about what they'd done…though he might have been yelling at his kids while he was on the phone with them….either way that hadn't been a good time….

So maybe it was good that he was moving on.

They were still looking for that Masami woman, though Hatori strongly suspected that she was dead. She had zero social media presence. Security cameras weren't picking her up either. Masami Suzuki was gone and out of this world….and maybe Suzuki was finally coming to terms with that. Maybe all of his weirdness, unpleasantness, and general assholishness all came from the fact that his wife left him. Maybe now that he found another woman he would devote himself to being a good husband and dad….or something….

Probably not.

"No, no, I mean…this part. I'm well aware of the history of the internet. I've been on it since before you were born." Said Suzuki. He didn't know how to phrase it. Explain this part of the internet? Maybe that was too much. The scope of it. The scope of…well he did need this whole thing explained. The internet was an infinite information….place…and people chose to share every moment of their days instead of…well other things…and he didn't get it…but then again he had never really gotten why other people did the things that they did.

People were so confusing sometimes.

Especially Shiori…Sakata. She was….well she must have done more with her life than eat brunch…though he did enjoy breakfast. Brunch and breakfast. Also she seemed to enjoy…she either had a garden or loved taking pictures of a garden….and this was just the last few days. She also spoke to others and…maybe Shigeko could have explained it better. This was just the sort of thing that Shigeko liked…though maybe this was not the thing to ask Shigeko for help for…

She was his daughter and he didn't want to share this part of his life with her….not that there was anything here…but still.

"What'd you do?" asked Hatori. Suzuki on the internet….what even was it back then? Well he'd seen the retro internet...people talking to each other…but he'd always imagined that Suzuki and Fukuda had spent their wild youth as a couple of recluses in possibly the weirdest friendship that the world had ever seen. Well now he had to know what Suzuki got up to…and also maybe if he asked enough questions he could do his job without Suzuki literally breathing down his neck.

"What?" asked Suzuki

"On the internet before I was born, I mean. You just don't seem like a very…social…guy. Also you hate PC games, well you used to." Said Hatori. He wondered if this would turn into one of their all night Minecraft sessions...that would be pretty fun….but maybe not. Mob was still avoiding him and he didn't blame her. She had confessed to him in the most embarrassing way possible…and he knew a thing or two about that. Yeah, he didn't hold it against Mob…but he really hoped that she hadn't told Suzuki because Hatori, well, he wanted to live to see his twenty first birthday and then his twenty second and if he was really lucky his twenty third too.

"Of course I did, computers are for work, and also arguing with people who are wrong but don't know it yet." Said Suzuki. Those had been…well times in his life. He couldn't help it if people were wrong and didn't know it. He had an obligation to correct people when they were wrong on the internet…well he had when he had been young…and Fukuda agreed. When someone was wrong on the internet then they had to be corrected. Not that Shiori…Sakata…had been wrong about anything so far…

Though she really didn't know how to enjoy a good omelet.

Ketchup. The ketchup made the omelet. Also the fillings actually had to go on the inside of the omelet. She was just eating a folded over collection of cooked eggs with cheese and green peppers on top without any ketchup at all. Who had taught her how to have an omelet? Her parents must have failed her in many ways in her life….not that he had any opinion on how she ate breakfast or anything like that…because that information had nothing to do with anything….

They were supposed to have been gathering relevant information so she, and by extension her group, could be enticed to join Claw….and he doubted that even a full omelet bar could entice her.

"Yeah….that is so you, boss. Anyway this is just something that people do for fun. They just like to tell each other about their lives. Some people care about this stuff." Said Hatori. He had never gotten the point of this either…but also he'd never had that many friends. There were pictures of him up, mom and dad had immortalized his childhood for him, but after the age of fifteen…well that was fine. He wasn't into all of that and, really, what about his life could he share? He lived and worked in a take over the world cult? His best friends ranged in age from just turned eleven to mid-forties? All the crimes that he was responsible for? No, all of that just wasn't for him at all.

"I…really don't understand." Said Suzuki. He didn't really understand being that invested in someone else's life. He understood being invested in someone's life if it benefitted you in some way but just to be invested for the sake of being invested…it made no sense to him whatsoever.

"Well do you want me to get off her Facebook then or-" said Hatori. There were a million other things that they could have been doing besides Facebook stalking a woman who wanted nothing to do with Claw anyway. There were games to play and other such non work related things that they could have been doing…and none of them involved Facebook stalking anyone.

"No, keep going." said Suzuki. He didn't understand it but…well this was good information gathering. Useful. Work related. When he had been young he'd had to actually leave his home to follow someone around so that he could learn about them. Now, well, this was much more convenient….not that he was sure what he was going to do with all of this information. Well attempt to entice her to join, obviously, but…well not everything here was relevant to how that went….

Like her favorite color.

She seemed to really like green. A lot of her clothing was green and her fingernails were green, and also that WAS her garden she had been taking pictures of….and green was a nice color. Well it depended on the shade of green. When he had been a child, a small child, there had been this shade of green that had been on everything that had been truly awful. Avocados were a good food meant for eating, now decorating your home with, and he was so glad that nobody used that color anymore….Shiori would have looked nice in it, though. She looked nice in everything.

Especially that dress.

"Go back up." Said Suzuki. That…was a very becoming dress. There. That was a very respectful way of saying what he…well what he would have been thinking if he had not been married. But he was married. He was very married. He was married to Masami and he could not be unfaithful to her…again….and he never should have been unfaithful to her in the first place….but he had been…and part of him felt like that was why she had left. Like she…well she didn't have the power of precognition or any power really….but maybe she had known him so well that she knew that he would end up falling to temptation…and that would not happen again. This was business. Strictly business. Strictly work. This was all strictly for work related business. That was all. This was…well he would figure out what, exactly, this had to do with business later….

But it did have something to do with business.

"This was New Year's last year I guess. See the year banner?" asked Hatori. Ok, Suzuki was into her. Or at least he thought that she had it going on…which she did. Well not that he was into women that old, she was old enough to be his mom, but she was Suzuki's age and he…yeah. That was the aura of a guy who liked what he saw…and this was weird…and also kind of funny…but also weird. Suzuki and a girl…yup. There was nothing could make that anything less than weird.

"I see it. She seems….festive." said Suzuki. He was not looking at her or at anything…well he was…but this was for…legitimate research purposes. That was all. He just…well he was also human and it was human nature to find other humans attractive. Father had explained that to him back when he was a child and he had not forgotten. We're human beings, he had said, and when one human being sees another human being it's normal to find them attractive. There are going to be women that you wished that you could be with and also there are going to be men that you would have wished that you could have been with if you had been born a woman. That's normal. Don't get anyone pregnant. Never kiss your little friend. He had been listening and he did remember and…and all of this was normal and it made perfect sense….

Also he wasn't going to do anything about how he felt so it didn't really matter.

"Yeah, that's a word for it." Said Hatori. He wondered how her dress managed to stay up like that…not that he was looking. No way was he looking at the same woman that Suzuki was looking at. That would have just been…weird…and also Suzuki seemed like the jealous type. Sho had to have gotten it from somewhere after all. Sho had to have gotten a lot of things from somewhere after all…but he wasn't going to speculate about Suzuki's sexuality. No, Shimazaki had done enough of that the other day…and Suzuki had not been checking him out. He had just been staring at the sheer number of tattoos that Shimazaki had….and Suzuki was not like that because if he was then a few of the things that he had said in the past would have been…..troubling….

Mostly the parts about how if he and Hatori had been compatible of course they would have gone out…which may not just have been a weird Suzuki ego boost thing….and he didn't really want to think about all of that right now.

"Keep going, I want to learn more about her." said Suzuki

"Well what do you want to know?" asked Hatori

"Just…everything that there is to be known about her." said Suzuki

"That's going to take a while but I can find out specific things about her if there's anything, you know, specific that you want to know." Said Hatori. He didn't really want to spend his day Facebook stalking this woman…but this was what friends did. When you had a friend you helped him with stuff like this…even though he had never been…was he a wingman? Right now was he being a wingman? He didn't know. Al he knew was that he had never done this before. He'd never even had a girlfriend so maybe helping Suzuki with…well whatever he really wanted to do…wasn't the best thing for him to be doing…but he would do his best. Not just because Suzuki hated incompetence but also because they were friends…sort of.

This really felt like more of a Fukuda job to be honest.

They were way closer, the two of them, and maybe this was best left to someone who knew Suzuki better. Also Hatori didn't want to be in the middle of another one of those jealousy…things…that he wound up in the middle of sometimes. He had no idea what Fukuda was so jealous about. Suzuki could have other friends. If Hatori hadn't known better he would have thought that there was something going on between those two…..but obviously there wasn't. Just two guys in the weirdest friendship the world had ever seen…

Well three guys, now.

"I….have no idea what I want to know so just tell me everything." Said Suzuki. That was certainly dizzying, like walking down the narrow walkways of a library. Information on either side of you, more than you had ever even thought existed, and you just…you're expected to pick out and open one book when there's a least ten more that you know that you definitely want to read and a hundred more you have no idea the contents of….and such…and the whole thing was just so…dizzying.

"Well we know that her name is Sakata Shiori, she graduated from university in 1998, she's psychokinetic like you, she likes gardening, she likes brunch, she spent a lot of her life in the Rising Sun Spiritual Association, she has a few starfish it looks like, she's recently single, she-" said Hatori

"Wait, what?" asked Suzuki. That had…come out wrong. His voice and his aura and…and he didn't care if she was single or married…well he hoped that she wasn't married…just so that he didn't have to deal with her husband or anything like that. That was all. That was the extent of his opinion on Sakata Shiori's marital status.

"Yeah, she keeps starfish. See? She's got-" said Hatori as he scrolled upwards. He figured that Suzuki was freaked out about that. He…didn't really understand the concept of pets. He had said, before, that animals were for work and eating but not for companionship…he could be a weird guy sometimes. Well most of the time. That was why he was sure that Suzuki didn't care that she was single. He was always going on about how he was married after all…and all of that.

"No, no, after that." Said Suzuki. He had no idea why anyone would keep starfish but he would worry about that later. She…wasn't seeing anyone? But she was…she was so pretty. Attractive. She was just…well her hair was short but it looked so soft…and she had very long legs….not that he noticed that. Not that he noticed anything like that about her or any other women…well he was only human but…well he didn't notice those sorts of things.

"Oh? Yeah, she just got out of…well not enough of a relationship to make if official but she was into that guy. The one from her pictures before." Said Hatori. There had been some guy in a million of her pictures…and that would have sucked for Suzuki if she had been in a relationship. This didn't look like just a work thing…and hey, Suzuki deserved love too. Maybe if he found a girlfriend he could be a little less…weird…with Mob, too. He treated her like she was his…well there wasn't a sexual part to it so not his wife…but also she did all the wife things…and he wasn't going to think about this anymore.

"How can you tell?" asked Suzuki. There had been a man in her other photographs but…well there was a lot when it came to things like that. Things that he didn't know. Hatori knew, though, despite being homosexual. Maybe because he was younger…and also he was closer to being normal than Suzuki had ever been.

"Because he was in all of her pictures and then there was the big block of time where she posted absolutely nothing and then she put up that picture, the one where she's got short hair, and after that the guy's nowhere to be seen." Said Hatori. He didn't know much about relationships but he had watched a lot of TV and spent time, before, around people who had been in relationships….and also he watched TV with Mob sometimes and she was kind of love obsessed….not that he was going to hold anything that he had done against her. Well Hatori knew the signs, that was the point, and apparently he knew more than Suzuki of all people did…which made sense, honestly, because Suzuki was….well he was Suzuki.

"You can infer that much from photographs?" asked Suzuki. Normal people, well people who weren't like him, were fascinating. It was like there was this whole other layer to existence, like there was a cypher over everything, and he just…didn't know how to crack it.

"Yeah. I mean I've never been in a relationship before but I've been around people who have and…yeah." Said Hatori. Maybe he should not have been helping with this….because maybe he didn't know what to do…and maybe he needed a better wingman…if he was even a wingman right now. He didn't know. He was going to do his best…if his best was even good enough.

"You know a lot about women, I've noticed." Said Suzuki after a moment. He may have said the wrong thing…maybe. Hatori's aura was…well it got that way a lot. Suzuki was going to figure him out eventually.

"Me?" asked Hatori. That was…well crazy talk. Suzuki…well him finding out that he'd been lied to would have been bad…but thinking that Hatori knew about women would have been just plain crazy. The only woman who he had spent any significant amount of time around had been his mom…well there was Minegishi…but they were Minegishi.

"Yes, you do…or maybe you just know about people. Better than I do, anyway." Said Suzuki. There was nothing wrong with admitting that someone knew better than you about a subject that they were an expert in. Hatori was more of a people person than he was, that was alright, he also couldn't multiply past eleven so the two of them were even.

"Ok…thanks. Anyway I can do research on my own….I mean I can try to. You can be here if you want to be…you know…since this is your house and all." said Hatori. He kind of wanted his space back. Suzuki was very close…very, very close….but he did that sometimes…but that didn't mean that he still wasn't way too close…

"They're all my houses but, yes, this is the one I'm currently living in." said Suzuki

"Right, sorry." said Hatori. Right. Suzuki…he liked things to make as much sense as possible. At least he had been sort of nice there. Well Suzuki nice. He hadn't sounded upset…and he did sound like stuff sometimes. His voice wasn't totally flat, Hatori had noticed, you just had to spend a lot of time with him to know what he meant and stuff….wow. He'd hung out with Suzuki for long enough to be able to hear the actual tones he used….huh. No wonder Fukuda glared at him like he'd caught him in bed with his girlfriend or something.

"You're fine…and no, I think that I'll stay. For…work reasons. Legitimate work reasons." Said Suzuki

"Alright….but you know, you could always talk to her yourself. I mean if you want to get to know her." said Hatori

"I already spoke with her. She said no. I don't know why she said no but she said no." said Suzuki. It wasn't that she had said no…it was that she had said no way. She just…did not want to join Claw even though it would have been mutually beneficial for both of them. If she had been a man then it would have been easy to make quick work of her and then liquidate her group and assets…but she was a woman and he would not be doing any of that to her. No, he would…try and be diplomatic…even though really Fukuda and Shigeko were the diplomatic ones…but he didn't want Fukuda involved in this and Shigeko…well this was not her job. Taking care of her brother was her job. This…this was his job that he would do by himself.

"Well maybe she'd say yes if you got to know her better…you know. In person. Not by reading through everything she ever posted ever on Facebook." Said Hatori

"That…is not a good idea. You wouldn't know this but women…do not like to be approached…for any reason. They approach men first, actually, and that's the way it should be. It's easier that way…and also it's best to make them feel comfortable with you. That's why it's best to follow them around, learn their schedules, and then be present there in the background of their lives until they approach you." Said Suzuki

"Wait…is that how you met…well the kids' mom?" asked Hatori. That…did not sound like the way to meet women…but what did he know? He'd never had a girlfriend before….but still. That seemed more likely to creep a woman out than to make her want to take you home with her…but then again it must have worked since Suzuki had gotten married and had two kids…though maybe that hadn't been the question to ask. Suzuki had put some distance between them there, physically and aurally…and maybe Hatori shouldn't have brought up his possibly dead wife.

Yeah, maybe he had fucked up there.

Because Suzuki had gone quiet. Quiet Suzuki…was not good. Pulled in close Suzuki…was also not good. Suzuki himself…well he could be very….unpredictable sometimes. He was just as liable to kick Hatori's ass as he was to tell Hatori that he was his second best friend in the whole wide world….and Hatori really hoped that there was a declaration of their undying friendship coming….

He wondered if he could fit under the table…no….Suzuki would have just dragged him out.

"No. She approached me. I hadn't even noticed her." said Suzuki after a moment. He…did not like to talk about Masami…or to think about Masami….or to even remember that there had been a Masami in his life. He didn't like to think about her but that didn't change the fact that his mind was constantly drawn to her. Where she was, what she was doing, why she had gone from him, if she was even still living…all of that. He just…he had met her completely by chance…and then she had left him. He had married her and then she had left him. He had made a human being with her…and then she had left him. She was gone and…and he had been terrible to her. Unfaithful…and he was still being unfaithful. He was being terrible. Thinking of another woman…he was still married to Masami. They were married and….and no matter where she went or what she did they would always be married. There was a ring on his finger and it could not come off, it was physically stuck since he'd gained some weight since he'd first gotten married, but also…well that was marriage. When you were married it was forever…even if your wife left you….

Masami being gone did not give him the right to look at other women.

"Oh, well then…I guess that was pretty lucky of you…I guess." Said Hatori. He wondered what the whole 'mood swings' thing that Suzuki had was about…and wondering about that was better than wondering if he could dig a hole and hide in it faster than Suzuki could find him if he decided to kill him. Ex-wife…possibly dead wife…just…not the thing to ask him about. It made sense, losing people was hard, and Hatori…well he needed to get some better interpersonal skills or something….and he would do that…if he lived through this…or at least made it through with all of his limbs where he'd left them.

"Yes…there was a lot of luck to it…I'm tired of this. Let's do something else. Right now." Said Suzuki. He didn't want to think about Masami…or Shiori…Sakata. He didn't want to think about how terrible of a husband he had been. He didn't want to think about how he had actually been thinking about….all of that…and not just with one woman either. There was also Minegishi…who was very pretty despite their short purple hair and wardrobe that seemingly consisted of nothing but men's clothing….and even before all of this there had been Sujin…Pang-san. There had been her and…and other things and…just…

He wanted to do something else.

"Um….I think that your kids are outside playing badminton…or maybe tennis. if you want to get in on that." Said Hatori. Maybe he wanted to hang out with his kids…or at least Mob. She always made him feel better. If Hatori could at least get him talking about Mob then he would feel better…and that would be better for everyone. Really.

"No, something indoors." Said Suzuki. This was Osaka in the summer. The last gasps of summer but still…this was Osaka. It was hot. It was hotter than Tokyo. It was even hotter than Seasoning City…and he had no desire to go outside. Especially since Son was out there shouting….yes. He did not want to deal with that.

"You want to hang out with Fukuda maybe?" asked Hatori. He didn't really want to hang out with Fukuda but maybe he'd make Suzuki feel better. They had known each other for a while now and, yeah, Fukuda sucked but he knew how to deal with Suzuki's moods swings and stuff…and also maybe they'd been missing each other. Suzuki had been acting kind of lonely lately. He was still weirded out by smoking with Mob, maybe, and that was why they hadn't been hanging out together like that before…so maybe he was just feeling lonely and Hatori had made it worse by bringing up his wife…or something. He didn't know. Fukuda would know. He knew Suzuki better.

"No, Shigeko is home and she doesn't get along with him for reasons I can't understand." Said Suzuki. It would have been enjoyable to spend time with Fukuda. He was always good company…but so was Hatori. It would have been better to have had the two of them together, that way it would be twice as much good company, but for some reason Hatori and Fukuda didn't get along. He didn't understand why so many people seemed to dislike Fukuda. He was good company, very loyal, and…well people had always been very complicated. He would never understand people, not for as long as he lived, but that was ok. He didn't have to understand people, he just had to live amongst them…and he could do that. That was something that he could…well not worry about…but his own social short comings….having them on his mind…all of that was better than having his shortcomings as a husband on his mind.

"Um…you want to hang out and play videogames?" asked Hatori. They could just sit here for the rest of the day….and a big part of the night, too, but he would probably leave when Mob came in to make dinner. No need to embarrass her and no need for Suzuki to know what happened. Well he would have been happy to know that he had been right, Mob had apparently had a pretty big crush on him, but…well Hatori didn't want to know what Suzuki did to people who rejected his daughter. Also he didn't want to make Mob upset. She'd been through enough as it was…poor Mob…and poor him too…but mostly poor Mob.

"Yes. That would be enjoyable. A good idea as usual, Hatori." Said Suzuki. There, that would be something that could take his mind off of…things. Masami things. Pang Sujin tings. Shiori things. Women things. Him and women and…and he was married and there never should have been any 'him and women' because…well he was a married man. He was a married man who had a wife and two children. He had two children and…and a wife and…and he should not have been thinking about other women! So he wouldn't be. He would not think about….well not even about his own wife…

He was going to think about…well whatever game Hatori felt like showing him.

It was a bit like being young, really. Women, well they had been girls then since he had been a boy and not a man, had always been stressful. Stressful and complicated and…and a lot. A lot for him to deal with. Rejection especially…rejection was never…and he hadn't even been…well Masami had left but…well the whole thing was complicated. Videogames were simple. Repetitive button presses….just the repetition was good….the whole world could just fall away. The world could become nothing but him and a screen…or him and Hatori and a screen…or him and Fukuda and a screen…and that had always been….

Well it had helped.

It had helped back when and it would help now. He was, in some ways, the same person that he had always been. He was still Suzuki Touchirou. He had always been Suzuki Touichirou…but he had grown up. Emotionally. Also the human body completely replaced its self every seven years…but that was the physical process of cells dying and being reborn. Emotionally…well there shouldn't have even been an emotionally. He was a grown man and he was not…he knew not to be interested in another woman…even if she was very beautiful and liked green and breakfast even though she had no idea how to eat an omelet….but he was not interested in her and…and any interest that he had in her was purely work related…and even then only because the internet made it easier to learn about someone…

Not that he was interested in learning about her at all….in anything other than a work capacity.