Shibata had no problem at all with taking care of his friends….but there was just one problem here.

Fukuda was not one of his friends.

He had never had many friends growing up, people had always been somewhat afraid of him, but he had some now. Hatori, mostly, and Minegishi to a lesser extent. The kids, of course, because they were just the sweetest little kids in the whole world. Even the new guy, maybe, once he started coming out of his room and actually talking to everyone else. Hell, if pressed he might have even described Shimazaki as someone on the edges of maybe becoming something of a friend to him instead of this annoying…person…while he had to live with and work with and put up with. Someone who did crazy things like drug Hatori for the hell of it. Someone who did annoying things like turn the entire house upside down even though everything had been painstakingly labeled for his convenience. Someone who, for reasons unknown, thought that filling a waffle maker with caramels and then melting them down was a good idea. Someone who-

The list of grievances was a long one.

The list of grievances he had towards Shimazaki Ryou was a long one but one that he could deal with. At the end of the day he lived in the house with all of them and therefore they had to be something approaching friends. Besides, aside from drugging Hatori for the hell of it, or maybe out of some residual anger from the thing with Minegishi last year, it wasn't like he did anything truly heinous. Not like some people….people who he really wished that he didn't have to deal with.

People who he had no choice but to deal with.

"Alright, here's your house." Said Shibata as he put Fukuda down. He didn't know what he had the president had been getting up to in there…well he did know. He was almost thirty and he lived with Minegishi and Shimazaki. He knew exactly what those two had been getting up to...and well…President Suzuki was a high strung man so maybe it was better for the rest of them that he got high every so often. Maybe it was better for everyone if Fukuda followed in his example.

Because if anyone needed to smoke it was this guy.

Shibata…well his opinions on it weren't negative. It was fun and some people needed it for legitimate reasons. Like Mob. He knew what it was like not to be able to control your powers. He knew what it was like to be bigger and stronger than everyone around you. It was like living in a dollhouse. Like the people around you were dolls and the world was cheap plastic or something and with just one wrong move you could end up breaking something or someone. He knew what that was like and if there had been some way, any way at all, for him to turn off his strength when he had been Mob's age then he would have in a heartbeat.

Not for himself but for everyone around him.

He had been in kindergarten the first time he had ever hurt anyone on accident. It had been a game of red rover….he hadn't meant it. He had run way too fast and body slammed into another kid. That had been how they had played it. The game had just been an excuse to slam into one another and see who could be the toughest. Well he…he didn't know what he had done...because the last time he had played nothing like that had happened…but he had sent the other kid into the fence hard enough that it broke, he went on to lead a normal life, of course, and back then nobody had suspected that there hd been anything wrong with him beyond the fact that he had been twice as big as the other kids. Everyone had always asked how old he really was…but he had always been big. When he'd been born he'd weighed almost eight kilograms and his little baby footprints had been fifteen centimeters long. He'd always been a big kid so when he'd accidentally hurt another kid playing…well nobody had worried…

But then it had happened again.

And again.

And again.

It had just kept on happening. It had happened time after time after time again and again and again. He had just kept on growing and getting stronger and…and for a time he hadn't been able to be around people. It was just too dangerous. He hadn't been able to hug his own mom or his friends…he hadn't even been able to pick up a drinking glass without shattering it…and until he'd managed to control his strength….it had been dark times…

So maybe he should have been grateful that he could control his strength well enough to help this jackass into his house.

"Come on, take off your shoes." Said Shibata as he opened the door and stepped through into the genkan. This house looked like his house…well that was because they were all Claw houses. They all looked more or less the same. That had always been something that he had liked. The President, his second hand man, and the rest of them in the upper echelons all lived the same. President Suzuki was a powerful man but he never lorded it over all of them. Actually he was weirdly humble…when he wasn't beating people bloody. He was just…well Hatori had said before that he was just a guy…and Shibata could see it.

He was just a guy who sometimes got high with his best friend…his asshole of a best friend.

"Come on, Fukuda, left shoe then the right one." said Shibata as he kicked off his own shoes. This guy needed water. He needed water and….well he didn't know what else he could do. Fukuda was an asshole, one of the biggest that he had ever met, but he was still leaning heavily and breathing deep…and…well he smelled like Shimazaki's jacket. He had overdone it…and Shibata hadn't even known that he could overdo it with his powers….

But Shibata had never really asked how his powers worked.

He had never really wanted to know. It hadn't been his business, ever, or something that had anything to do with his life. He had enough to deal with as it was. Hatori wasn't well…he was with Suzuki but Shibata would be on standby…and he had to be on standby for the others too. Shimazaki and Minegishi were probably going to fight and when they fought Shimazaki acted out…like a kid….and Sho would probably be in a mood when he came home too since he was not dealing with his feelings well…and Mob…well if Minegishi was in a bad mood then she'd get all anxious….and the new guy was a total wildcard….

He had enough to do as it was.

"I know how to take my shoes off." Said Fukuda. He pulled himself free from Shibata. Shibata, of course, let this happen. He could have stopped him. He could have easily stopped him but, well, he wasn't going try. He had better things to do with his time, first of all, and second of all he just…had enough to do as it was. If Fukuda wanted to handle his own business then he would. Shibata…well he could have left but…Fukuda needed water.

So that was what he did.

He kicked off his shoes and stepped past Fukuda. He was fumbling with his laces in the genkan…and as he passed he had the urge to bend down and undo his laces for him. Even though his hands were way too big, he wore slip on shoes for that reason, he still wanted to help. Even though Fukuda was an asshole he still wanted to help. He was an asshole but…but that didn't mean that the people around him had to be.

People liked you better when you were helpful.

If you took care of people then they liked you. If you put them first, if you did what they needed you to do, then they liked you. The needed you…and you needed them. People needed other people. That was just…how it worked. People needed other people. They needed each other whether they wanted to admit it or not. People needed friends and friends helped each other…and that was just how it worked. As long as he was needed…and he was needed…then he could just…be there. Be with other people. Be something other than what people saw him as.

Be someone other than the person the world seemed to think that he had to be.

He was over two meters tall. Two hundred and fifteen centimeters to be exact. He could lift a grown man with one arm and not even break a sweat. He knew how he looked, he knew what people wanted him for, and he knew what he had been recruited to Claw in the first place. He also knew that he could be more than that. He knew that he could do a lot of things…like this. Like rifle through other people's cabinets looking for drinking glasses.

He kept his above the microwave for some reason.

Shibata liked to keep the plates and glasses above the sink. That way once they were dried they could just go right up there. In a lot of ways this was weird, being in another person's kitchen, and it was extra weird when this kitchen was pretty much an exact copy of his. White tile walls, white fridge, blue counters, same table even. Two chairs, though, around it. Not six. Two…well maybe the second one was for Suzuki. Maybe the second one was for Fukuda's only friend…or maybe it was for Sho…he spent a lot of time here…or maybe it was just to give the illusion of friendliness.

Shibata's old apartment, the table in it, had two chairs.

His first apartment, the one he had gotten after…what had happened…there had been a table there already. The whole thing had come furnished…for a man half his height…but he had made due. There had been two chairs. An old table had been in the kitchen. An old Formica thing, bright red, with a metal band around it. There had been two matching red chairs even though he had just needed the one…and even though he had spent more time eating on the floor of the living room than anything. Chairs…why did they always have to be so tiny?

Or maybe he was just too big.

He was careful when he opened the cabinet. He was careful when he took out the glass. The same sort of plain, clear, glass that had come with the house. These houses always came furnished and stocked. He had his own housewares that he liked to bring with him. Things that made the house feel more like a home. This house…this looked…like a place where a human being lived.

A living space.

He almost expected to be in his own kitchen. It was the Zootopia glass in the cupboard that cinched it. It was…well not Sho's. Not like the one that Sho kept at his house. That one just had the fox on it. This one had the fox and the rabbit…and Shibata had to watch that movie again. Sho loved it…not as much as Mob loved Frozen…but he did love it. He was such a good kid…well he could be kind of a…he tended to act out but he was still a good kid…and it was good that he had someone looking out for him….

Even if it was Fukuda.

"What are you doing?" asked Fukuda. Well he had certainly sobered up quickly. He had walked into the kitchen like normal. He had even tucked his shirt back in. He had tucked his shirt in and he was smoothing down his hair even though it was so short that it didn't even need brushing…probably. Shibata didn't know. He didn't ask.

He just filled the glass.

He was careful when he turned on the tap. He had, when he was little, torn so many taps off on accident that mom and dad had just ended up buying him a watercooler with an automatic sensor. It had been an expense but much less of one than having to have the plumbers coming around every single week. He still did than on occasion, when he was too tired to know his own strength, and he was getting there now. He was getting to that point. He just…had a lot to do. There was a lot that needed doing and…and he had to be the one to do it.

He set the water down on the table.

"Here, I thought that you could use a glass of water. You seemed petty out of it." Said Shibata. He pointed to the water in case Fukuda couldn't see it. He seemed to be back to normal. He seemed to have gotten out of whatever it was that he had been in…and that was good. Now he could get home and get a jump on cleaning the kitchen…maybe get some knitting done. Something relaxing. Something to calm him down before the oncoming storm.

"I was but I'm fine now…but thank you." Said Fukuda. Shibata had been about to leave but…well he had no choice but to stop in his tracks. He had said…and there had been something to his voice then. He had sounded almost sincere. Tired and sincere. Usually there was a backhandedness to his thankyous…but now…well there had been something almost sincere in there…

Maybe Shimazaki had dosed him too.

"You...you're welcome." Said Shibata. He had to say 'you're welcome' because, well he had to be polite. He had to be polite and he had…well he was a polite person and he had to stick to that. Even though there had been so much shock…well now the shock was over with. That usual look of distain was back on his face. For some reason that look was almost comforting in a way. Something else normal. Really normal, not like…this kitchen. This copy and pasted kitchen he found himself standing in.

"What's all that about?" asked Fukuda. The look of distain was there…and Shibata knew that he could have wiped that look off of his face…and maybe he wanted to. Maybe part of him wanted to send him sailing across the room. Maybe he had been wanting to do that for a while. He had put Mob through a lot. He didn't know the full details of it but he had put he through enough to make her dislike him…and Mob…well she wasn't the sort of person who disliked others….

She was usually nicer than that.

"What's what about?" asked Shibata. She had no idea what he was on about. Shibata…he had said what he needed to say…and he didn't care if Fukuda liked him. So he could have just left. Mob didn't like Fukuda so neither did he…but he did wish that he would drink that water. Water would help with…whatever there was to help with. If there even was something else to help with. He didn't know. He couldn't just leave someone who needed him.

Even if it was Fukuda.

"You seem amazed that I thanked you." Said Fukuda. He still didn't take a drink…and he needed to take a drink. There was no way that he could go home unless he knew that Fukuda was ok…even if it was Fukuda. He may have been an asshole and Mob may have disliked him…but Sho liked him. Those were his drawings on the fridge and his Zootopia glass in the cabinet and…well Sho liked him for some reason and he would have been upset if something happened to him…so Shibata would be nice…

Well he was always nice.

"You just don't normally do that." Said Shibata. He said that as nicely as he could. He was always nice. He had to be. He had to be nice because…well people didn't expect him to be. He knew how people looked at him and he knew what they expected and he just…he would not be what people expected him to be. He would be better than that. He had to be.

"I'm perfectly capable of saying 'thank you'." Said Fukuda. Well Shibata had to be nice but Fukuda…well he was his own person. He wondered if it had to do with having had been President Suzuki's friend for long…or at all. President Suzuki…well he wasn't a nice man…to anyone aside from Hatori and Mob that is…and maybe Fukuda was the same way. Maybe the only person he was nice to was Sho…and not for reasons that had been speculated upon…because then Shibata would have to become a murderer…and also he would never assume that about someone. That was something that had always been assumed about him for his entire life just because he liked kids…and someone could be an asshole without being 'that' kind of asshole…

Fukuda was just a regular asshole.

"Well then…maybe you should say it more often. I mean, and don't take this the wrong way, but…maybe you should say thank you more often." Said Shibata. Fukuda was such an asshole…but maybe he just didn't know it. Maybe he just…wasn't right. Like President Suzuki wasn't right. He was…a lot of things, that man, so maybe his best friend was the same way. Really, it would have made sense. People didn't just spend a lifetime, they had been together longer than Shibata had even been alive for, together if they had nothing in common.

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Fukuda. There was an edge to his voice…and Shibata was glad for it. Really. Better him get ready for a fight than act like he was afraid that Shibata was going to put him through a wall. He could, easily, he had the ability to…but he was not that kind of person. It was nice to see that someone could tell that he was not that kind of person…even if it was Fukuda of all people.

"I didn't mean anything, you know, nothing. Just that people might like you a little more if you…you know. Were nicer." Said Shibata. People liked you better when you were nice to them. The concept wasn't a complicated one. He was nice to people and…and he didn't have the ability to not be nice to them. Not being his size. Not with his powers. He just…he had to be nice and…and maybe that was what was upsetting about all of this. Fukuda either didn't get the concept or just….wanted to act like an asshole….and Shibata didn't know what was worse.

"I don't need people to like me, I just need to do my job." Said Fukuda. That…was truly insane. How could he not care if people liked him? Didn't he know that he would ultimately end up alone with that kind of attitude? Being alone…that was the worst feeling. Coming home and having no one. Nobody to talk to. Nobody to ask how their day had gone. Nobody to ask you how your day had gone. Nobody to share a meal with. Nobody to spend time with. Hell, nobody to make a mess even. Being alone was the worst…but of course Fukuda had never been alone once in his life.

Hatori had said, before, that President Suzuki had known Fukuda since they had been in school…and Shibata couldn't even imagine what a friendship like that must have been like…but it must have been something good at least..

"Well…with all due respect…you kind of have that job because President Suzuki likes you." Said Shibata. He was trying his best to be respectful. He wasn't Shimazaki, he wasn't a shit stirrer, even though sometimes shit needed to be stirred. This was Claw. Minegishi had said, before, that everyone in Claw had some kind of deep social or personal problem…and Fukuda was no exception. He had some kind of a problem with Mob…he had no idea what that could have been…but he had a problem with her.

It was amazing that President Suzuki hadn't noticed.

Mob was his favorite kid. She was his favorite and Shibata…well he wasn't going to tell President Suzuki how to raise his kids…but he needed to stop playing favorites. Also he needed to stop treating Mob like his wife but that was something else entirely. Shibata knew how much President Suzuki favored Mob and he also knew how oblivious he could be. So oblivious obviously that he didn't notice how much his best friend disliked her.

That same best friend that was standing there saying the craziest shit imaginable.

"…I'm aware of that fact. Touichirou…President Suzuki likes me…and Miss Suzuki…that's what this is about. You're going to tell me that I need to get into her good graces…and maybe you're right. Maybe I messed up and she hates me and now I'm going to have to pay for it. Never piss off the boss and all of that." Said Fukuda. He ended that with a laugh and Shibata…he had no idea what was so funny. He thought that Miss Suzuki…that Mob hated him? Mob…well she didn't like him…but she didn't have it in her to hate anyone. She was too sweet.

Were they talking about the same person?

Fukuda didn't like her. For some reason, reasons that nobody had ever told him, Fukuda did not like Mob. Shibata just couldn't see it. For one thing she was a kid and kids, well kids, you couldn't dislike them. Even when they acted like…well Sho. Even when a kid acted out like Sho did you couldn't dislike them…because they were just little kids. You could dislike adults, that was fine, but kids…no.

In the twenty seven years that Shibata Hiroshi had been alive he had never once been able to understand why people disliked kids.

"She doesn't hate you, she can't hate anyone, she just doesn't like you…and I don't know the full story as to why but I know that it has something to do with you…accusing her…of things and just…well she can pick up on the way you are about her. Everyone can pick up on it." Said Shibata. Sometimes people had to hear the hard truths. They didn't always have to listen, and indeed sometimes they couldn't even listen, but you still had to try. He had no idea what h was going to accomplish with this. He wasn't a kid, he knew that it would take more than a few well placed words to fix whatever had gone wrong, but he…well he wanted to use those words.

"That I can see through her, you mean." Said Fukuda. Shibata…yeah. He knew that words wouldn't help this situation. He had no clue what that could even possibly mean. Mob was…what? What did he think that there even was to know about Mob? That there was to see. She was Mob. She liked Frozen and making friends and playing games and other little kid things. What was he even….

"What are you even talking about?" asked Shibata

"You're one of the better ones, you know, of her little group. I always liked you the best." Said Fukuda. Well that was…he liked being liked but…he got the feeling that he didn't like being liked by this guy. He just…well he wasn't going to start anything but…yeah.

"Uh…thank you…?" asked Shibata

"I like you but you honestly can't see through her. She's…she's just a little girl to you…" said Fukuda

"Well…yeah. She's eleven and a half. What else would she be?" asked Shibata

"The person in charge of all of this. That's what she is…she's eleven years old and she has power over all of us…a child has power over all of us…and you can't even see it." Said Fukuda

"Well she does outrank both of us….but that doesn't matter. It's not like she lords it over us or anything. She's just a kid…and I can't believe that's why you don't like her. That's just…I mean she's the President's daughter so of course she outranks us. She's his oldest child so of course she's going to inherit everything." Said Shibata

"No, Sho's the heir. She's just…someone." Said Fukuda. Shibata had no idea what to make of that. Yeah, Mob was someone. She was a kid, she was just a little kid, and Fukuda…he hadn't been badmouthing her but…but he got that feeling…and he didn't want to have that feeling but he had it…and he felt like he was getting close to the edge of…to the edge of his patience. He hated getting to the edge of his patience….and he couldn't…let…himself….get…there.

"Yeah…Suzuki's daughter…and anyway what does it matter? You're in the upper echelon and so am I. What do you have to complain about? So what if Mob has power over both of us? She's a good kid…and I really wish that you could see that. She used to like you, you know. She used to like you and now she doesn't and-" said Shibata

"She used to like Hello Kitty…" said Fukuda. There was such a…well a heaviness to that…to what he had said. Shibata…he knew what he would have said, that he had been getting close to the line…the line that he didn't like to cross…that he hated crossing…but now he was away from it. He had no idea what that heaviness was, where it had come from, but he did know that Fukuda needed him…and he could never turn his back on someone who needed him…even if it was Fukuda.

"Alright, looks like somebody had a little too much to smoke…and drink, too, by the smell of it. Come on, drink this water and then we'll get you to bed and then you'll be back to normal in the morning. How about that?" asked Shibata. He tried to sound pleasant, he tried to sound friendly, he tried to put Fukuda at ease…even though he didn't really want to…he had no idea what he wanted. He didn't know what he wanted but he did know what he had to do…and what he had to do was take care of Fukuda…because that was what he did. He took care of people.

He had no problem taking care of people…even Fukuda.