Serizawa didn't need to be watched.

He didn't like to be alone. He couldn't be alone, actually, but not because he didn't like the feeling of it. He did. That was the problem/ He didn't like being alone because in being alone for very long periods of time, or short periods, he wanted to be alone more and more and more. That was why he didn't like to be alone, because he couldn't be alone, and if he was alone well…then he would just want it more and more and more.

But that didn't mean that he needed to be watched.

That was what Miss Suzuki had asked her father to do. She had gone out with the others, and she had offered him a chance to go out to, but he had stayed here. He'd had a hard enough time in Japan. This was America. This was a whole other country. Being outside was hard enough but being outside in a place where he couldn't understand a worked that people were saying…and also this was a city and he had never been in a city this big and…and he just wanted to stay home. Miss Suzuki had let him and she had told he father, to, to watch him.

He didn't need to be watched.

He liked having company. He liked President Suzuki. He didn't know why all the others had such bad things to say about him. Even Hatori had said that President Suzuki could be…not so great…and Hatori was one of his best friends. President Suzuki seemed like a perfectly nice person. Sure he didn't talk that much, and sure he could be kind of bossy, but he was the President and presidents were supposed to be bossy. That was just how it worked. It wasn't like he was mean or anything…so really Serizawa didn't mind sitting near him….

But he didn't need to be watched.

"I cannot stand Ishiguro." Said President Suzuki with a sigh. He was sitting across from him on one of the tiny couches. His friend Fukuda was sitting beside him. They were working now. Serizawa…well he agreed with Hatori, President Suzuki could be kind of bossy in games, but he would have preferred to have played something with President Suzuki to sitting off on his own playing by himself. Miss Suzuki had asked him to make friends with her father and that was what he was supposed to be doing…and also…well also he liked making friends.

He had a lot of time to make up for, too.

"You can't stand anyone." Said Fukuda. He didn't even look up from his own laptop. He and President Suzuki were doing important work together and….well Serizawa didn't mind that nobody was looking at him or talking to him…he really didn't. He had no reason to. He had spent the past fifteen years on his own in his room…he had just gotten too used to having people around him to talk to him…like Miss Suzuki always did….

Not that he needed to be watched or anything like that.

"I can stand people. I can stand you, him, Hatori, and Shigeko." said President Suzuki. Serizawa sat up when President Suzuki pointed towards him. That was all he did. He didn't have anything actually to say to Serizawa…and that made sense. He and his best friend were doing very important work that Serizawa couldn't help with. He had no idea what they were even doing. The whole morning had been a flurry of names and places and words that he didn't know and he knew better than to ask. The adults were working…that was how he felt…

Even though he knew fully well that he was an adult.

"You can't stand any of the Division Heads." Said Fukuda

"No I cannot." Said President Suzuki

"Are you going to replace him?" asked Fukuda

"No, he does good work. I just can't stand these ceaseless complaints…did Hatori say when he was coming back? He's good at sorting out my correspondences." Said Suzuki

"Nope. He just left." Said Fukuda

"This is not a vacation for us…I'll tell him later. He's a child. He's easily distracted." Said President Suzuki. Serizawa looked up. Hatori was younger than him but he wasn't a kid, neither of them were, even though there were times when Serizawa felt like it. He felt like…well he felt like he was the youngest person in the room. Like he had been frozen in time when he went into his room. But he hadn't. The year was almost over. He was twenty seven years old. He wasn't a kid.

Even though he felt like it sometimes.

"He's twenty years old, Suzuki." Said Fukuda

"He's young enough to be my son." Said President Suzuki

"But he's not your son." Said Fukuda. There was a tone there that Serizawa didn't really understand. Maybe he was jealous…he sounded jealous…but he had no reason to be jealous. He was President Suzuki's best and closest friend. They even shared a room like a long sleepover. Serizawa wished that he had a friend like that…but that wouldn't ever happen for him…but if he'd had someone like that in his life then he never would have been jealous. He would have known that being best friends meant something and that even if other people came into your life you would still be best friends. That was how it worked.

Or at least that was what Miss Suzuki had said when she explained her friendship with Minegishi to him.

She had a best friend, too, Minegishi. They were close too. Shimazaki had Sho. Shibata had Hatori. Everyone had someone to be best friends with and…well maybe it would happen for him too. Not with Miss Suzuki, she already had a best friend, but maybe…maybe he could meet someone. The thought was just…it made him dizzy a little…and just…he looked back down at his laptop. Nothing good would come from this…and he shouldn't have been listening either because he wasn't a part of this anyway.

He was all on his own….and that was alright.

"Fair enough. You want me to head over to the Seventh Division later on? I can take Sho with me too. You know, to give you a break from him." said Fukuda

"Yes…but later. Not now. After this we have to get back to London. Son is planning on proposing to his girlfriend then. On Valentine's Day. I don't want to ruin that for him." said President Suzuki. He was such a good father like that. He really cared about his son, even if he could be sort of mean to him, he really did care. Sho was eleven, Serizawa had been at his pancake birthday party, and he already had his whole life figured out…and his dad was alright with that. Well that was just how parents were. They cared about you and they let you do the things that you thought were right for your life…even when you didn't have it all figured out.

Even when you made bad choices.

No. Don't think like that. He'd done what he'd had to do to keep everyone safe. He had thought, for his entire life, that he had been the only person in the world who could do the things that he could do. He'd spent twenty seven years without even the first clue that he hadn't been totally alone in the world. Well he had been wrong and…and he had made the best choice at the time…and mom had done what she had thought was best. She had done her best and he had done his best and now….well now he was here and it didn't matter. He was here and he just…he was a part of something great. Even if all he was doing was sitting on a couch playing a game that he'd played a thousand times before he was still a part of the best thing that he had ever imagined could exist.

Because of this place, because of Claw, nobody would ever have to feel alone…and nobody would ever have to be afraid…ever again.

"I know….I know. He's pretty serious about this." Said Fukuda. He had a tone there, too, like he wasn't happy about this. Why wouldn't he have been excited? He loved President Suzuki's son like his own. That was part of their friendship. That was why he always wanted to spend time with Sho…well the others had their own theories…but the others were the others. They could be kind of…downers…sometimes about things. Maybe because things were just less…good? No, not good. Things were just…less…for them because they hadn't been without...well…everything.

It was important to see the good in things. Miss Suzuki said so.

"He told you as well? Well I suppose that he would have, he's very close with you." Said President Suzuki

"I was with him when he picked out the ring…and before you say anything I tried to stop him but he was pretty adamant about that human tooth…thing…and you know how stubborn he can be." Said Fukuda

"I'm aware, I'm aware…and I have no idea where he gets it from." Said President Suzuki. Fukuda shook his head and laughed. President Suzuki looked up from what he was doing. The whole energy of the room shifted. That was because of how bright his colors were, his aura was. Fukuda's aura pulled back from his…but then he just sort of stuck onto Fukuda's aura. Serizawa wished that Miss Suzuki had been there, she knew more about auras than he did. She knew more about these things…well most things, actually.

"What?" asked President Suzuki

"Nothing." Said Fukuda with a shake of his head.

"No, something." Said President Suzuki. He inched closer to Fukuda…if that was even possible. Fukuda tried to inch away from him but he couldn't. Even Serizawa knew that President Suzuki was sitting too close…but maybe that was just how best friends were….or maybe President Suzuki liked him or something. That was what Hatori thought…and that would have been great! Other people finding happiness...the kind of happiness that he would never have. Not that he wanted that kind of happiness with President Suzuki. He was Miss Suzuki's father. That would have been kind of weird for the both of them.

"Fine. Finish this song for me. Blinded by the light…." Said Fukuda. He sang that last part…and Serizawa was sure that he had heard that song before even though it was in English. President Suzuki shook his head though, so maybe he didn't know it, or maybe he just didn't like music. Serizawa had never heard him playing anything…though it was difficult to hear anything from his room over the music that Shimazaki played and sang all the time.

"….Fukuda…" said President Suzuki

"Come on, you know the words." Said Fukuda

"Fine…revved up like a deuce, another runner in the night. Are you happy?" asked President Suzuki. He spoke a different kind of English than Fukuda did. Better, not that Serizawa was trying to be mean, but he did sound better…should he say that? Or would that have been interrupting? They didn't seem like they wanted to be interrupted….so Serizawa did the smart thing and said nothing at all.

He wasn't a part of this.

Serizawa felt like he shouldn't have been in that room. He shouldn't have been there watching this…because this wasn't for him. It was like President Suzuki and Fukuda were in their own world. He got the feeling that he had just heard a very small part of a very long story…and he wanted to hear the rest of the story…

But it wasn't for him.

"As much as I can be." Said Fukuda with a shrug.

"You were happy to have won….and I only let you win that fight…and only because you…hear…better than I do. That's the only reason that you won. I spoke, and still speak, better English than you do." Said President Suzuki

"Alright, fine, you let me win." Said Fukuda. Serizawa didn't think that it was a question of 'letting' someone win. He got the feeling that either someone was right or wrong in that situation. They had been arguing over song lyrics…and that seemed like it would have been the easiest fight in the world to settle…but they were older than he was. If he wanted to know something he just Googled it. They were older than him, old enough to not have had the internet, and they had been friends…wow. They had been friends for that long. Serizawa had been born in 1989 but a time before the internet and computers….that might as well have been a million years ago….and President Suzuki had been friends with Fukuda for that long.

Wow.

"Wow…." Said Serizawa before he could stop himself. It was just so…wow! Miss Suzuki would have agree with him if she'd been there…but she wasn't. She wasn't there and he was all alone…and now he was being stared at. He was being stared at and…and he wished that Miss Suzuki had been there. His umbrella was near to him, and it had been given to him by her, but it was no substitute for her. For having her near. For having her there to keep him safe….not that he had anything to be kept safe from. It was just her father…and he was nice sometimes…and he wasn't even doing anything. He was just staring at him….

He had really cool looking eyes. Serizawa was going to focus on that.

"Something to add?" asked President Suzuki. He had this way of looking at you like you were the only person in the world…and not in the good way. More like…like he was the only person in the world and someone was staring at him with a telescope from worlds away…but also from right across from him. Close to him. Close enough that he could have….well Serizawa had no idea what he could have done to him but…well he would have done…stuff!

"No! I mean…I don't know what all of that was about but…but it wasn't even about me!" said Serizawa. He wanted to run and hide. He wanted t go to his room and hide and…and he had no idea why. President Suzuki had looked at him before…but not like this…and also…well not when he'd been al alone. He was all alone on his side of the room, on his own tiny couch, while President Suzuki was sitting with Fukuda…and maybe that had something to do with how he felt. He didn't know. The only thing that he knew was that he really wished that Miss Suzuki had been there…but she hadn't been…and she had told him to make friends with her father…and also she had told her father to watch him…

And that was what he was doing.

"It wasn't but I'll tell you what happened anyway. I'm feeling gracious today. One day when Fukuda and I were fourteen-" said President Suzuki. Fukuda, who had been doing some staring of his own, decided to say something. His whole aura had perked up…and now it was focused on Serizawa for some reason.

"Fifteen." Said Fukuda. He was looking at Serizawa and his aura was focused and…well Serizawa would ask Miss Suzuki about that later. He got the feeling that Fukuda…well that he didn't like him…but that was crazy. Sure nobody had anything good to say about Fukuda but he couldn't have been that bad. He was friends with President Suzuki after all.

"Right. Fifteen…not that there's much of a difference…but yes, we were young…and you hadn't even been born yet probably…but anyway my mother had been listening to the radio and that song came on and we spent a week arguing about the lyrics. We bought a record, and a tape, and then a CD before we settled it. We also gave ourselves tinnitus but Fukuda fixed it." Said President Suzuki

"I told you not to turn it up that high." Said Fukuda. He was looking at President Suzuki now. President Suzuki finally, mercifully, took a break from staring at Serizawa and turned to face Fukuda.

"And I told you not to tell me what to do." Said President Suzuki. Something passed in between their auras…and Fukuda…well he just….he seemed kind of mad and so did President Suzuki…but not mad for real. That mad that old friends could be…well that mad that he'd heard that old friends could be…and it was just so…so great that they were friends. He was so happy for them.

Because, really, it was a happy thing to have such a good friend in your life.

"Something funny?" asked President Suzuki. Now he was looking at Serizawa again…and he just…well he had cool eyes. Blue. A very pretty shade of blue…like those earrings that mom used to have…sapphire! Yes, they were cool and…and focusing on how cool his eyes was…it helped…though he did wish that there had been some way for him to run away and disappear….but he couldn't do that anymore.

"No, I wasn't laughing." Said Serizawa. That was the truth. He had been happy and he had been smiling but not laughing. He would never have laughed at President Suzuki…and not just because he was always weirdly serious. He was trying to be friends with him and friends did not laugh at friends.

"Then why do you look like that. Fukuda, he's amused, right?" asked President Suzuki. He turned back towards Fukuda…and now Fukuda was looking back at Serizawa again…and it seemed like something passed between them but he had no idea what. He needed more practice being around people….but with Miss Suzuki. He needed a break and when she was around he could always take them…but she wasn't around…and he would have be on his own and…and he had nothing to worry about anyway. President Suzuki…he was nice…

Or at least not mean.

"Looks like…but let him be. He's just a kid. He can laugh at whatever he wants to laugh at." Said Fukuda. No, he wasn't laughing…and he wasn't a kid….and even if he had been then he wouldn't have been laughing and…and he heard a tone there that didn't seem nice but…well Fukuda had no reason not to be nice to him so…so he was just…

He had to pick one thing at a time.

"I…I wasn't laughing! I just….I think that your friendship is really beautiful! That's all! I mean you've known each other for longer than I've even been alive and you have so many stories and…I just think that's great! And I like hearing your stories and…and I'll stop talking now." Said Serizawa. He really needed a break. If Miss Suzuki had been there then he could have taken her hand and hid underneath her aura…but she wasn't there. She was out in the world with her friend and she was enjoying her time in the city and…and one day he would be able to do the same but…but not today.

Today all he wanted to do was go to bed.

"You honestly enjoy hearing about our childhood?" asked President Suzuki. He was sitting on the edge of his seat and now Serizawa…well he got the feeling that he was being looked through. He felt…well he knew that he wasn't being looked through because nobody could do that…right?

Right?

"Y-Yes…"said Serizawa. That was the truth…and mom had always told him to tell the truth…and even if she hadn't then he still wouldn't have lied….especially not to someone who he wanted to be friends with…and who wanted to be friends with him, too, judging by how he was being stared at.

"In that case are you sitting comfortably?" asked President Suzuki. Fukuda stared at the two of them now, his eyes went between him and President Suzuki and back again, and Serizawa…well he wasn't being spoken to by Fukuda so he said nothing.

"Yes." said Serizawa. He shifted a little…and yes, he was comfortable, but he had no idea what he had been asked that for…not that he would ask. President Suzuki didn't like a lot of questions. Hatori had been very clear about that and Hatori had been his friend first.

"Good. Then I'll begin." Said President Suzuki. He said that with this sort of finality that Miss Suzuki spoke with, too, when she decided that they were going to do something…and Serizawa didn't mind. It was comforting, actually, just a little.

"What are you up to?" asked Fukuda. There was another look, another tone, and another movement of his aura. Serizawa….he got the feeling that he was doing something wrong…which didn't seem fair at all because he hadn't done anything but sit there! No that he was upset…he wasn't…and he wasn't scared. He just…he felt his aura reaching out….but Miss Suzuki….she was too far away.

"He wants to hear about our childhood and I'm bored so why not? I'm supposed to be watching him anyway. Shigeko asked me to. Serizawa, sit comfortably and listen." Said President Suzuki. Serizawa could see why everyone said that he was bossy…but that was alright. He was the President so of course he was bossy….and Serizawa didn't mind. Being told what to do was easy….he didn't have to think about anything or worry about anything or anything. He could just….be…there. He could just sit and listen…so that was what he did.

He wasn't a kid, he didn't need to be watched, but he didn't say anything about that. He didn't say anything at all. He didn't have to. President Suzuki and Fukuda had a lot of stories.