Something was wrong with Mob.

Well a lot was wrong with Mob. She was an eleven year old with serious substance abuse problems, which Minegishi took responsibility for, but something new was wrong with her. She had been quiet all night. She was surrounded by people who adored her copious amounts of junk food, and was in one of those costumes she used to wear all the time. She should have been over the fucking moon but, instead, right now all she was…she was quiet.

Even in the middle of a haunted house she was quiet.

"I want to suck your blood!" shouted an Awakened as he popped out from behind a conveniently placed curtain. An entire floor had been converted into a haunted house of….some dubious quality. The Awakened needed a lot of direction, even for this, especially for this. Minegishi and Mob were walking through what was the 'everything is a vampire' section…just like the last section. Apparently the Awakened were really into vampires….and judging by the amount of body glitter they had on they were also into a particular tragic vampire romance franchise that Minegishi would not admit to ever having had read or enjoyed.

So much body glitter.

"I got it the first fifty times. Honestly." Said Minegishi as they shook the body glitter off their only white button down shirt. Mob didn't have to shake hers off. She just picked every single piece off with her powers and deposited it in a nice pile on the floor. Fine movements. Minegishi sometimes forgot how much she was capable of. There was more telekinesis than picking things up and throwing them. Being able to pick up something so small and move it with such precision…and in the near darkness too….well it was impressive.

And a good sign too.

Well a good one and a bad one. Mob had been hitting the open bar petty hard….well hard by a normal person's standards…and she wasn't even…God…they remembered when a capful of straight vodka was enough to have her teetering in place and speaking nonsense. That had been years ago. Now she was normal…mostly….aside from being a little quiet…rare for her at a party. She was looking up at them in the darkness and the glow sticks and the flashing lights…..and she was just…..

Quiet.

Minegishi felt a tug at their hair. It was getting long, again, and they'd have to either stop being lazy and cut it or learn to stop being lazy and take care of their long, by their standards, hair. Maybe they should just let it grow out. Mob had been asking them to grow it out so that she could braid it for a while…and maybe it was about time that they let her. Maybe it was about time that they did something nice for her….not that they didn't try their best already but…well Mob had a lot going on.

Things that Minegishi couldn't even have imagined.

"You had a lot in their hair. I don't know why they have so much glitter on….I hope they didn't take all the glitter from the crafting room." Said Mob. She was playing with the sleeve of her dress. Minegishi knew that look. She was vulnerable. She was vulnerable and something had made her feel this way, probably her dad and whatever bizarre thing he had done, and Minegishi…well they could pick up the pieces of this. They could and they would and they'd do it without adding to the terrible coping mechanisms that they'd taught Mob.

They so hated regrets….but they had them and they had to deal with them.

"If they did then they just won't have any crafting glitter to craft with. It's their own problem." Said Minegishi

"I know…but I still have to take care of them. I have to take care of everyone." Said Mob. Mob was going to work herself into an early grave with all of that…and they had no idea how they were supposed to fi that. They had no idea how they were supposed to just…get her to think about herself for once in her life. To realize that the most important person was her….that she had to look out for herself….Mob wasn't like that. She was a lot like them, a younger version of them, but she wasn't them.

She was better than them.

She was, in a lot of ways, like a very young version of themselves. Back before their parents had decided that they were crazy. Back when they had thought that maybe if they could have been better done better, made everyone happy then their home life would have been less hellish. That mom and dad could have just…stopped. Stopped fighting and just…been better to them….but they had grown out of it quickly….

Mob showed no signs of growing out of it anytime soon.

"Is that what's wrong? Your dad decided to dump even more responsibility onto your head?" asked Minegishi

"Like glitter?" asked Mob

"Yeah, like glitter." Said Minegishi. They reached over and shook one of the fake spider webs beside them. Glitter fell down onto them like some kind of terrible snow. Glitter was the cancer of the crafting world. No matter what you did to get rid of it you'd still end up finding it in the strangest places later on without even having expected it. They knew that they were going to end up waking up with a pillow covered in glitter….and Ryou would end up with it in his eye sockets and that was always a joy….

Whatever. It was what it was.

Mob loved this stuff. When she had been small pretty much every single item of clothing she owned had been blue and glittery. She was back in the blue dress, apparently they still made those in her size, and she should have been happy but she just…wasn't. Minegishi…they didn't like caring about Mob but they did. It wild have been simpler if they could have just….not cared. Just been grateful that she was being quiet and…well they weren't that person anymore. If they, a younger version of themselves, could look forward in time and see themselves now then they would have thought that they'd lost their mind….and maybe they had….

But it was whatever.

"No….he didn't make me do anything else….we just had a fight and…let's keep going. Come on, the Awakened worked hard on this and we should at least see everything that they built." Said Mob. She took them by the hand and left the glittery vampire room. They let themselves be led. Mob…was being cagey. She was being cagey and also she'd been drinking like a fish earlier…..fucking Suzuki. If he hadn't been the most powerful esper on Earth then Minegishi….well they would have done something….something violent. A bit of the old ultraviolence…

But they couldn't.

There was no way to beat Suzuki. There was no beating him because if there had been a way to beat him then they would have done it back when they'd first fought him. They had come so close to becoming a Scar….but they hadn't. They didn't have one of those scars on their face…well they had scars from that fight…and they knew that if they tried it again then they would have just ended up with more scars…if not dead.

Mob needed them alive and able to be there for her.

"Which room do you want to try next? You want to try the spirit room? Or the zombie room? Or the zombie dogs room? Or the zombie vampire room? Or the zombie Beatles Room? Or the zombie vampire Beatles vampire room? Or the-" said Mob

"I'm sensing a theme here." Said Minegishi

"They really like zombies and vampires I think…and also Shimazaki likes the Beatles…I hope he comes up here soon…and that he's having fun." Said Mob

"Trust me, Mob, Ryou's having the time of his life." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head. They could feel him teleporting around. They knew what he had been drinking, he was making good use of Mob's birthday gift it seemed, and they knew that he'd either continue to have the time of his life or he'd end up in the middle of a bad trip and they'd have to fund him and talk him out of a tree…or something…..

Mob first, then Ryou.

They loved Ryou. They loved him and they would take care of him….because they were an idiot….but they also loved Mob and she needed them more….and they were going to be there for her. Even through this weird malaise that she was in…and she was way too young for this malaise. She was only eleven and a half. She could wait, at least, until she was twelve for the malaise of life to set in….but then again her life being what it was….

Whatever. They were here for her and that was what mattered.

"Do you think? I want him to be happy. I want everyone to be happy." Said Mob

"I know. You want everyone to be happy all the time….but you know that can't happen, right?" asked Minegishi

"Yes it can. If I work hard enough then everyone I love can be happy." Said Mob. Minegishi wanted to hit themselves over the head until they drew blood….or maybe they wanted to hook Mob up to one of those conditioning machines…anything to get some sense into one of them. Mob needed to get off of this. She was going to end up running herself ragged trying to make everyone happy all the fucking time….

Those operant condition machines were cruel….right?

"Mob, listen-" said Minegishi

"Come on, let's see the zombie Beatles." Said Mob. She took them by the hand and walked down the hall. The entire floor had been turned into haunted houses….or rooms….and Mob should have been into this. She loved it when people did things like this…and she loved a good party….and usually she was more open than this but…well this was….

Something that Minegishi could deal with.

"Sure thing. Whatever you want…but at some point I want to talk to you." Said Minegishi as Mob led her down the hallway. They pressed themselves to the wall as a group of Awakened wrapped up in bloody toilet paper, either they were some kind of mummy or there had been some kind of terrible/wonderful accident….or someone had decided to indulge in a bit of the old ultraviolence….and they'd stop now. They were starting to annoy themselves with all of that…maybe they shouldn't have gone with the Droog costume. Maybe they should have gone with the matching Frozen costumes that Mob had wanted….

The things they did for friendship.

"I hope none of them got hurt…maybe I shouldn't have told Fukuda to stay home and keep dad company." Said Mob

"Mob, this is a party, not a funeral." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head. Every party had a pooper and that was why Fukuda got invited to parties. This was supposed to be fun and that guy…well he had this aura of hating the world even in the middle of…well whatever this was. Mob didn't need that. Nobody needed that. Mob needed….well she needed a lot of things…things that Minegishi was going to do their best to provide for her.

"I know…there's a lot of zombies and vampires running around and also there's that guy that made a bedsheet ghost costume but forgot the eyeholes….but it's not a funeral." Said Mob

"No, I mean he's probably happier with your dad then ruining whatever this party is." Said Minegishi

"It's a Halloween party and also a party for Shimazaki…and you're right. He's probably a lot happier with dad….I just hope that I didn't mess by making him stay with dad….and stuff. I hate it when I mess up." Said Mob

"What makes you think that you messed up? I swear to God if that asshole is bothering you again…" said Minegishi. They weren't in the habit of psychoanalyzing people but if they were they would have diagnosed Fukuda with some kind of personality disorder. The kind that made him always right, everyone else always wrong, and an eleven year old girl responsible for all of the misery in his life. They weren't in the habit of psychoanalyzing people, though, and even if they'd had the credentials to do so they wouldn't have had to. This was Claw. Everyone here had some sort of serious psychological or social disorder…..

But there was no reason to take it out on Mob.

"No, no, nobody is bothering me….I just…got into a fight with my dad today…and I think that I messed up. I mean I was really mean to him." said Mob

"What did he do to you?" asked Minegishi. They tried to sound pleasant. They tried to sound pleasant as they reached out to the minuscule plant life in this building. This was…something that they could do their best to help Mob with…and they just…if they had the ability to beat Suzuki…if they had the ability to knock some sense into that insane head of his…then they would have….but they couldn't….they could only pick up the pieces of his insanity.

"He got me this dress." Said Mob. She pulled her dress out to the side in case Minegishi hadn't noticed….and nothing good ever came from Suzuki getting dresses for Mob. This, at least, wasn't just a copy of his dead wife's dress….which was good…so it meant that he wasn't trying to turn Mob into his daughter-wife…even more so than he had already….

"Mob…come sit down. I feel like there's a story there." said Minegishi as they slid down the wall and pulled Mob down with them. Suzuki had gotten her an Elsa dress…like she had worn a year or so ago. She had practically lived in those princess dresses for a while….and was Suzuki trying to go back to that time? He hadn't reacted well to her first period….and he seemed to both love and hate the fact that his daughter was growing up…..Minegishi was getting a hell of a headache. Trying to understand him…trying to understand that man….they did not have the headspace for this. Not now. Not sitting there on the floor of the haunted hallway with Awakened ran past them and thee songs plus a spooky sounds tape fought for auditory dominance.

"There is…sort of. He got me this dress because it's ok for me to wear dresses but it's not ok for Sho to wear dresses, dad said, because Sho is a boy…but I wanted us to be Elsa and Anna and I didn't even put any makeup on him….but dad didn't care and he got all mad…and also he doesn't want Sho to like boys even though he does….not that dad knows….but anyway I told dad that if he didn't let Sho be who he was then he was going to take Sho and run away like mom did." Said Mob. Minegishi blinked. If they'd had eyebrows they would have been up in their hairline. They blinked so hard that they could feel their eyeliner smudging….and they blinked some more.

Well that had been quite the info dump.

So Suzuki was back to enforcing gender norms…he apparently had nothing better to do….and Mob had stood up to her dad. She had not only stood up to him but had threatened to walk out on her dad….like she thought that her mom had. People didn't leave Claw. There were no defectors….but nobody could take on Suzuki…not like Mob could….and while Minegishi suspected that her mother was dead Mob…well she could do it…

She had threatened to defect Claw….to walk out on her father….

"Mob…you threatened….to walk out on your father? Your dad? President Suzuki? The red haired guy with the weird eyebrows that made all of this insanity possible?" asked Minegishi. She had threatened to walk out on her own father. Suzuki…he had…Minegishi could have laughed. There was just something completely hilarious about Suzuki's daughter-wife threatening to walk out on him. The whole situation was so bizarre it was hilarious….but they didn't laugh. This was serious. Mob was freaked out and this whole thing was serious….

Ryou would get a kick out of this later.

"Yes….my dad. Suzuki Touichirou. The guy with the weird eyebrows who runs Claw." Said Mob

"So…how did he react to all of this?" asked Minegishi. They hadn't seen any scrapes or bruises on Mob or her brother…but then again they did have a healer…and maybe that was why she had told Fukuda to keep Suzuki company…..or maybe nothing had happened and he had taken his own daughter-wife threatening to walk out on him well…

They really had no idea when it came to that man.

"He said that….well he said a lot of things but it ended in him agreeing to be less of a jerk to Sho and accepting him for who he was and never hitting him again…." said Mob

"So in other words you won." Said Minegishi. Mob…she didn't see this as a victory….even though she was the victor in that situation. She had found a way to control her father…which was another scoop of weirdness onto the Suzuki family sundae of bizarreness…but she had won. She had even used her words like she always tried to. She had won and now she and her little brother had one less thing to worry about….but there was still all of that malaise…and Minegishi…they were no strange to malaise….but they were getting kind of tired of it…

And Mob didn't need to waste her life on the never ending malaise…doing whatever she could to feel something….

"I…don't feel like I did. When my mom left….it really hurt him…well it hurt all of us but dad….he was really scared when she never came back and….and I know, now, that he thinks that she's a traitor and he doesn't love her anymore…and I'm not even sure how I feel about her….I mean she's my mom but she just…left us all alone….and stuff…and I just….I don't want to make dad feel that hurt again but….but I don't want him to ever hurt Sho again either…." Said Mob

"Mob….you won. You won this fight and you won it or your brother, too, and you love him more than he deserves….and before you jump down my throat he can be a real asshole sometimes." Said Minegishi

"Sho…can be a lot sometimes…but I don't think he's a….that word. I love him." said Mob

"You do. You really love him and you did right by him….and also your dad shouldn't have pushed you to that point, alright?" said Minegishi

"But….I don't want to hurt anyone ever again." said Mob

"You didn't hurt him. You warned him. You warned him that unless he started to act like a decent human being you were going to leave. There's a difference." Said Minegishi. Mob had warned him. That was more than Minegishi had ever done with their parents…well….when they had been a kid, before they had been taken away from the last time, they had warned their parents that one day they would come back and then they could have their revenge…..and they had…and they knew that Mob wasn't going to come back to her father after ten years ready to turn him into fertilizer….

"But…I don't feel that there's a difference." Said Mob. Minegishi was not about to tell her the plant story. This was Halloween, true, but Mob didn't need to hear about all of that. She didn't need to know the exact story….when she was old enough to hear it…and when she wouldn't hate them for telling it…then she would know they story of how the become a self-made orphan….but not now. Now was the time for reason and logic and just….not the time for recounting the only murder they had ever enjoying committing.

"Mob….it's like….a haunted house. You're here and you know that you're going to have people jumping out and scaring you…so it's ok. Now if you were just walking down this hallway on any other day, when it's not Halloween, then one of these idiots jumping out and scaring you wouldn't be acceptable at all. You get it?" said Minegishi. That was the best thing that they could do on such short notice. She was looking at them, now, and she was listening….and the wheels in her head were turning…and that could have been something good or something bad. That was just how Suzukis worked, it seemed, it was either something really good or something really bad when it came to that family and thinking really hard about something. There was no in-between with these people….

"I…think so. I mean….I warned dad so…so if I leave then….it's his own fault?" asked Mob. She didn't sound like she got it. In fact she sounded like she was trying not to understand. She sounded like she was trying to convince herself that she was in the wrong. That she was in the wrong there….and Minegishi could not let her believe that.

"Exactly. You warned him. You warned him that you would do whatever you had to do to protect your little brother…and you did nothing wrong. There's nothing wrong with trying to protect someone you love." Said Minegishi. Mob understood love. She understood love and caring and she would just…she would accept this. She had to.

Minegishi could see the wheels in her head turning.

They could see the wheels in her head turning. They could see her thinking. One path, then another, and another. How she could think in such a chaotic environment they could never understand…but she as thinking…and hopefully she would come to the right conclusion. Somehow she would come to the right conclusion….

Otherwise it was going to be a long night.

"It's….ok to be mean to my dad….so long as I keep Sho safe….because I love him." said Mob. She got it. She got it and now Minegishi could die a happy person….well not now. Now they had Halloween stuff to do. Stuff that would take Mob's mind far, far, far away from whatever bizarre fight that she and her dad had gotten into.

"There, you've got it. Now come on, let's check out these rooms and then the bouncy house and the stage show I hear that they're putting on….a night of the spooky Beatles…and it'll be a good night, alright? Now come on." Said Minegishi

"Alright….but can we go back to the drinks place too?" asked Mob

"Mob…one. You can have one more….alright?" said Minegishi with a sigh. That was them….well them and Ryou….but mostly them. They would rather Mob have bobbed for one of those fabled razorblade apples than having taken another drink….but this was what it was. One was enough. One more and then she would be done for the night….

And this time they meant it.

"Why only one?" asked Mob. Minegishi…were they like her when they'd been eleven? They hadn't been drinking, not yet anyway, well not in any significant way. They had been smoking homegrown opium back then to dull the pain of living….and Mob…well she had to dull the pain of living too….so….well she would do whatever she wanted to, she was her own autonomous human being, but Minegishi…they would do their best to teach Mob how to do the right thing….or at least the least wrong thing.

"Because I don't want to spend the night chasing after a drunken eleven year old….I have enough to deal with when it comes to Ryou….alright? Now come on." Said Minegishi as they stood up. They pulled Mob to her feet and walked off towards another haunted room. There. It was done with and now Mob was better….as much better as she could be…and now they could enjoy the rest of Halloween.

Something had been wrong with Mob and now it wasn't….and Minegishi had done the best that they could.