That had been one hell of a play.
Suzuki hadn't ever considered himself to be a big lover of the theatre or a patron of the arts. He enjoyed television, and he enjoyed animation as a medium, and he had nothing at all against art…but he had never given much through to the performing arts. The stage. He had been to the theatre before, and found the experience not unpleasant, but he had never enjoyed a show as much as he had enjoyed the one that he had seen earlier.
Truly Frozen the Musical was the peak of western culture.
"Standing frozen in the life I've chosen…..you won't find me, the past is all behind me…buried in the snow…." Muttered Suzuki as he sat on his bed and flipped through some very important work, this time legitimate work. There were new assets to be found in Europe…well the same ones that he should have been looking into….and also apparently the new Eighth Division had an infestation of….he had no idea what had caused the infestation of deadly spiders….and no, he was not going to authorize the division head to burn it to the ground…they'd either have to clear them out or learn to live with the spiders….the deadly spiders….
"Let it go, let it go…..can't hold it back anymore…." Well if the spiders were so deadly then….what ate spiders? They must have had a natural predator…everything had a natural predator…..right? Even human beings had a natural predator….Son would know. He was out but he'd come home and then Suzuki would ask him. He knew about animals….
"Let it go, let it go….turn my back and slam the door…." Maybe they would die in the winter…but it was summer in Australia….and he did not want to go back to Australia….it was so hot in the summers….and also he hated spiders….but it could have been worse….it could have been rodents of some kind….
"And here I stand, and here I'll stay…let it go, let it go…the cold never bothered me anyway…." Did rodents eat spiders? What did they eat when they weren't living on the fringes of human society with their tiny little cities and societies and clothes and songs and…well now he sounded like a madman…he knew that they didn't actually have little cities but…but what if they did? What if underneath his feet there were cities of mice and rats and they were just biding their time? They lived short lives but they compensated for that by reaching maturity quickly and breeding quickly…and there was no way to outbreed them…so if the revolution did come….
Laughter.
So if they built up a Ninth Division and then temporarily abandoned the Eighth Division…he corrected his thoughts. Fukuda was laughing at him. He was sitting there on the bed beside Suzuki and laughing and….and he was no telepath. He was not a telepath and he never would be and Suzuki had made a point, even, that there would never be a telepath anywhere near him…his aura flares and his heart races…but he's fine.
He's fine.
"What?" asked Suzuki
"Nothing." Said Fukuda with a hand over his mouth like women did when they laughed. They had the right idea. That way at least you could pretend that they weren't laughing at you.
"You're laughing at me. Why?" asked Suzuki
"I'm not laughing at you." Said Fukuda. Suzuki looked up at him and gave him a light shove with his powers. He could have shoved him off the bed, it would have been easy, but he didn't. They had to share a bed after all so it would do neither of them any good to start some kind of conflict…even though it wouldn't have mattered even if he had harmed him. He could heal.
"Yes you were. Fukuda. Explain." Said Suzuki
"Fine….your singing never bothered me anyway." Said Fukuda
"….I was not singing." Said Suzuki. He may have been muttering, or humming, or even speaking out loud to himself like a madman but he had not been singing. He did not sing. Not even the school song when he'd been a child.
"Alright, alright, you weren't singing." Said Fukuda. He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. Good. He was surrendering. Now they could go back to their peaceful evening.
"Good. Now get back to work. We have so much to do…and we are so behind…" said Suzuki as he went back to his laptop. He made sure to keep his mouth shut this time and keep the music in his mind. He had to get this song out of his head…so he would just let it run it's course. That was still the best song…and the new verses made it even better…but there were other good ones. Not the one that the snowman sang, though, he was the worst character in the entire play.
And the film.
Because, really, nobody should have been able to create life. Well people, most people barring some kind of medical condition, could create life but only through the process of intercourse and even then not every time. Being able to just wave your hands and make an army of immortal, annoying, snowmen? Terrifying. They really should have explored that more in the play. That Elsa could create life. What did that say about her kingdom? That she could make an heir on her own? An immortal heir of ice and snow? And how much autonomy did her snow creations have? And if she had magic id that mean that there were others? And why didn't her sister? And why-
Fukuda was looking at him. He quieted his thoughts just in case.
"Yes?" asked Suzuki
"Nothing, just…you're in a good mood." Said Fukuda
"I can be in good moods on occasion. Why wouldn't I have been? We saw what was, perhaps, the greatest play in the history of the western stage….what's not good about that?" asked Suzuki
"Frozen? That's the greatest play in the history of western civilization to you?" asked Fukuda with a shake of his head.
"Of course. It has everything. Music, drama, violence, beautiful women, good set craft…it was a good play. Shigeko did well to bring us here. I'm proud of her." said Suzuki. There was a look, now, to Fukuda's face and aura…and he did not understand it. That was normal, though, he had never bene able to fully read Fukuda…or anyone. Not even his own wife…but he could read his Daughter. When he took the time to really look at her and think he could read her very well…and she the same to him.
His Son, of course, remained a mystery.
"Yeah….this was a fun outing…but maybe we shouldn't make these a habit. We have a schedule to keep." Said Fukuda. Suzuki…well yes, he was correct. They had a schedule to keep and they were behind….but it had been worth it to make Shigeko happy. What could be worth more than making Shigeko happy?
"Shigeko was happy. That's what matters. She had a good time, everyone had a good time. That's what matters." Said Suzuki. Fukuda was staring at him now, and his eyebrows were raised, and his aura…well he was shocked. Suzuki knew what shock looked like….but he also had no idea what had been so shocking about what he had said. They'd had a good outing. Shigeko liked it when they had outings and she liked it when they went well. She had been happy, her brother had been happy, and all of her friends had been happy…some of them had even decided to express it physically for some reason, and even her little pink haired friend had enjoyed herself….
So there, a good time had been had by all and that was all that mattered.
"You're shocked. Explain." Said Suzuki
"Just….you care how everyone feels? That they had a good time? Why?" asked Fukuda
"Because Shigeko would have been very upset if things had gone wrong. She had been looking forward to this since her little pink haired friend mentioned it." Said Suzuki
"Right….yeah. Shigeko and that…girl. Right. Well I'm glad that it went well, as well as could be planned, too. Now we can leave and get back to our lives." Said Fukuda
"I agree…not let's get back to work. I'll work up a new schedule for us and then you can check the logistics of it." Said Suzuki
"Sure thing….and I'm going to make sure that we end up with separate apartments if not houses if you don't mind." Said Fukuda
"I have no problem with that." Said Suzuki. He didn't. He was looking forward to getting his bedroom back. Just him all on his own…or maybe with Shigeko. She was easier to share a bed with. She didn't take up so much space and she kept her clothing in her own room. Yes…he would rather have slept next to his Daughter and not Fukuda…not his best friend and most trusted follower. No, he hated…well he hadn't HATED it. He hadn't hated being with Fukuda these past few days. Sure he took up a lot of the bed…and he spent half the night tossing and turning….
But it hadn't been….bad.
Not good. No, it would have been strange if he had enjoyed sharing a bed with his best friend. Father and mother had said so. He and Fukuda, when they'd been children, shared a bed when they slept over. That had stopped when they'd gotten too old for that. He remembered that day. Father had sat him down on his bed and told him that he was becoming a man and a man shared a bed with a woman and that was just how it went. Then mother had come back with a futon for Fukuda to sleep on when he stayed over…and…and it had all made logical sense. Logical sense and….and there had been this feeling in his chest which not had made any sort of logical sense. That futon lived in his wardrobe….and every time he opened the wardrobe….well there had been this same sort of…pain? Not…no pain but…it was not a good feeling…the thought of being alone…but people were not meant to sleep alone. When his parents, well his father, had been young it had been customary for the whole family to sleep in one room on futons…and he could always sleep next to his Daughter…so that was it. That was…he didn't have to be alone and also…also he just…he didn't need anyone and…and he didn't want to sleep next to Fukuda anyway.
He snored.
He had always snored even when they'd been children. Also he moved around a lot in his sleep. Also he ran very warm….but that was alright because it was winter….which was why they slept the way that they did…to conserve body heat…and they couldn't get another blanket because of….reasons. Reasons like…something to do with the environment….or…laundry or….other important reasons. Reasons which…were reasonable and…and he wouldn't have to think about at all because he and Fukuda wouldn't be sharing a bed anymore.
There.
It would be better. Things would be normal and he would be able to…to rest better. Yes, he needed a good rest. He had trouble resting….well no, he slept very well...but that was just because he was a human being and human beings were made to sleep with others…not that he would be sleeping with Fukuda in the other sense of the world. He knew how that worked and the whole thing seemed very panful and he did not like pain during…or ever, really, and…well if he had ever thought of what it would be like if one of them had been born a woman the that was totally different….and also he was not going to think about that now…he was going to stop thinking about that….even though Fukuda would have made for a very pretty woman…and he wasn't bad looking now so as a woman he would have been stunning….but he was not a woman, he was a man, so there was no point in thinking about any of this…
It made no logical sense.
"What's up?" asked Fukuda. He looked up and made eye contact….and Suzuki broke it. He broke it and looked down at his laptop. His work…he had been working….but all the characters on the screen might as well have been nonsense. He felt warm…he had no idea why but he felt warm…and he just…had to get back to normal and…and keep his powers under control…
The lights flickered.
"Nothing. You…nothing. Carry on as you were." Said Suzuki. He doesn't look back up. It isn't….well this was not…unsafe but…well this was not…he had work to do so that was what he was going to do. He was going to work and work and work until his vision blurred and he passed out….and then he would wake up tangled up in…and now he was thinking and…and he was just over tired, that was all, he was overly tired and he just needed sleep….after more work because he had to be efficient and….
And he had never been more grateful for a knock on the door in his life.
"Shigeko. Enter." Said Suzuki. Well now he felt better. She was there. It was like he had bene in a pressurized room or something and she had opened a window. She stepped in through his doorway, a towel precariously wrapped around her hair like a turban, and some kind of white cream all over her face. He had the urge to take a picture…so he did. He called his phone over and took a picture.
"Dad, don't." said Shigeko as she stood in the doorway. She reached down and played with the sash on her robe. Her aura was trained on his, it was like she was avoiding Fukuda, and one of these days he would get to the root of whatever their conflict was…but not tonight. No, he just did not have the energy to deal with that.
It had been a big day.
"Why not? You're adorable." Said Suzuki. That was a good word for her, adorable. She was always adorable but now she was particularly adorable. He had no idea why Fukuda was looking away from her like that. She was adorable.
"Thanks dad…..but I'm all…like this. Me and Minegishi are having a spa night because they need to decompress from the day." Said Shigeko. Suzuki…well there was…well now this made sense. The way his aura sought out Minegishi's…and got tangled in the plants around the apartment. They were everywhere in their plants…and they were so fascinating…and intelligent….and just…Minegishi. It took some time, seconds really, to get his aura to the person that he sought out…and he was….poked away?
That was what it felt like…like a hard jab to the side.
"Minegishi? Is sh-are they…alright?" asked Suzuki. He tried to get a read off of them…and they just poked him again. That was what it felt like, a hard jab to the side, a very hard…well then. They were just…they seemed normal but…well if something was wrong then Fukuda could do…something. Yes, he would and then Minegishi would be…well he cared because…it made sense for him to care about their wellbeing. They took care of his Daughter after all.
"Yeah, they're just tired and stuff. Also they're so stressed, they said, that their skin is betraying them and now we have to have avocado masks." Said Shigeko
"Do they like avocados?" asked Suzuki. He had a mental list of the foods they liked…and maybe he had to add avocados to it…and then they would be happy. He was a full and complete person on his own…but he was also a man and they were a woman and as a man he of course wanted to make a woman materially happy. It was instinct. Men hunt, women nest, and he…well all he wanted to do was follow his instincts and provide for them.
That was all.
"They like avocados. They especially like them on toast but they like them in masks, too. Theyre good for a lot of things." Said Shigeko
"What other sorts of foods do they like? I know that they like dark chocolates without nuts, black coffee, orange soda, pancakes with strawberries in syrup, square waffles but not Belgian, seaweed chips, red-" said Suzuki
"Miss Suzuki, did you need something or did you just come here to say goodnight?" asked Fukuda. Fukuda had interrupted him…and Suzuki wanted to put him through a wall for that…but also he'd done the right thing. The list was very long, he things that he'd noticed that Minegishi liked, and if he recited the entire thing then Shigeko would have asked why he knew that much….and then he would have to explain….he had no idea how to explain it. Hatori thought that he was attracted to, that he 'liked' Minegishi, and he did…as a human being…but he was not attracted to them…and even if he did then…well then his Daughter could never know. She did not need to know how terrible men could be.
How terrible her father could be.
"I was just wondering if either of you knew where Sho was. He went off with Shimazaki after the show…and that was hours ago…and also I think he either lost or broke his phone again…or it just died. Shimazaki isn't answering his phone either but he might just been drunk or something." Said Shigeko
"I have no idea what Shimazaki did with your brother." Said Fukuda with a shake of his head. That was…well he knew that Shimazaki would never have let any harm come to Son….but he also knew that his Son was a moron….and he courted death every single day in all the most idiotic ways…and he would only get worse as he got older….and….and Suzuki did not want to have another Son…
So he just decided to look for the one he had.
"Let me look for him. He's….alive." said Suzuki as he pulled his aura out and then back again. Fukuda shuddered. Shigeko put up a barrier. He wavered a bit. Pulling his aura out and touching the whole city…lots of potential assets here….that had been a lot…but Son was alive and now Shigeko could rest easy.
"Oh….well I can do that too…but ok. Thanks, dad, goodnight….and you too, Fukuda, I guess." Said Shigeko before she closed his door and walked away. As soon as she left he felt…well it felt like the room was back to being pressurized. Fukuda was staring at him now. He didn't know if he could look up. If he did then his aura might have flared again…and more blood would rush to the topmost layer of his skin….and there was no logical reason for it…for any of this….
There was no logical reason for any of this so therefore it came to him to be the logical factor in this equation…so he went back to work.
Or at least he tried to.
"Do you want me to go out and look for Sho?" asked Fukuda. Suzuki's laptop screen went to blue…and that was him. He hoped that he hadn't lost anything. That had not been his fault. That had been Fukuda's fault for speaking and being…there…and himself.
"No, he can handle himself…and I have no idea what you think that you could do anyway. Now leave me to my work." Said Suzuki
"I can go out and see where your eleven year old Son went. He's been gone all day in one of the biggest cities in the world…and he's with Shimazaki on top of all of that." Said Fukuda
"So? My son can handle himself, I have every faith in him, and I know that for as….himself…as Shimazaki is I know that he would never let any serious harm come to my Son. Now leave me to my work." Said Suzuki. Fukuda, thankfully, decided to do as he was told. That was something that Suzuki had never liked about Fukuda, the times when he wouldn't do as he was told. He knew that Suzuki was the person in charge here, Suzuki had always been the one in charge, but he…for some reason….just didn't listen sometimes.
It was odd.
It had always been odd…but Suzuki did not want to think about Fukuda right now. He wanted to wait for his laptop to boot back up. Hopefully it hadn't been destroyed, he did ruin them on occasion, he had a lot of important work on this. Important work and files and photographs….and he could always ask Hatori to fix it for him or to save all of his work….but then he would have to get out of bed and wake Hatori up and then if he woke Hatori up well then they'd just end up being awake all night…and he could not afford to be awake all night again.
Even though he got the feeling that he was going to end up staying up all night anyway.
"There. My Son is home. See? You were worried about nothing." Said Suzuki. There. Now Fukuda could stop…overstepping. Yes, that had been what he had been doing. He had been overstepping and trying to tell Suzuki how to raise his own Son. He knew his own Son, what he was capable of, and he knew that his Son was strong enough to handle himself. If he ever met someone or something that he could not handle then that was what Shimazaki was kept around for.
Son was perfectly fine.
"Yeah, I feel his aura, and I hear him yelling too." Said Fukuda. Suzuki nodded. Son was carrying on…and he had better not have been planning on doing that for much longer. He was going to wake his sister up and the rest of the house too. Shigeko…well she had been ready to go to bed…and if she wanted to stay up with him then….no, she needed her sleep and she did not need to have hat sleep disrupted by her little brother carrying on like he was….Suzuki listened….
Something about….rats?
"Hey, you were the one who wanted to make friends with rats. Play stupid games and win stupid prizes." Said Shimazaki. His voice was easier to pick out than Son's. Son's voice was still so high, honestly he sounded identical to a little girl sometimes, but Shimazaki…well Suzuki had never noticed his voice before…and he had no idea what to do with this information now that he had it.
"I did not win a stupid prize!" shouted Son. Yes, now he could be heard easily. He was shouting and stomping…towards his door? Oh, right, Fukuda was here and Son had probably injured himself in some way. Rats. He had been playing with rats…the worst of all animals…worse even than the time he kept snakes in the house. That had just been bizarre…and Suzuki hadn't been strange to hold that opinion. No. Shiori had thought so too…
Not that he still thought about her…or any woman…because he was married.
He was married with children. He had a wife and he had children and even if he did embrace being a womanizing, self-defiling, slave to his own joy…he could not have. He had children to think about. If he had been a man on his own…possibly. Shiori had been…and was….intelligent and beautiful and…well she knew a lot about starfish which was odd because starfish were such simple creatures….and also her hair had felt like silk and her skin had been like…well it didn't matter. He was a married man, he had two children, and he had to set a good example for them.
Especially his Son….that Boy had enough problems as it was.
"Fukuda! Fix this!" said Son. He had a problem with knocking, apparently, but that could be forgiven since he also had a problem with being covered in blood. There, all over his shirt, face, and hands, was blood. So much of it….blood. He could smell it. He could smell copper and…oregano? Was that…and garlic?
What?
"Fukuda!...and dad, I guess…fix this!" said Son. He ran around the bed and threw himself onto Fukuda's side…and Suzuki…well he knew that his Son was fine but the idea of his blood offspring covered in blood…well he had seen the Boy covered in blood before, in fact he had seen to it, though never this badly…so maybe that was it.
He knew that his Son was capable to taking care of himself.
"Son….you're covered in blood…how did this happen?" asked Suzuki. His Son glared at him. Aurally and facially he was glaring…and Suzuki…well he didn't like it but there was nothing that he could do about it. Nothing that he could do without involving Shigeko and he did not want to involve her right now. She was tired or busy or…well she did not need to deal with this.
He didn't even want to deal with this.
"Like you care." Said Son
"Sho, come on. Be nice….now come on, how did this happen? Why are you covered in blood? I heard something about rats…and I'm actually a little but scared to know." Said Fukuda. Son's entire demeanor changed. He…well his face didn't entirely soften but…well his aura wasn't quite so pointed and hard, and his face had somewhat softened, and he was facing Fukuda now…and that was…well that was fine. That was good, actually, because now Suzuki wouldn't have to deal with anything. He could get back to work now. He couldn't have helped his Son if he had wanted to, anyway, because the Boy was covered in blood and blood…well Fukuda was the healer. He was the one who took care of these sorts of things.
Fukuda was that person to Son, not him.
"It's not blood, well it is on my hand, but the rest of it is pizza sauce. We were trying all the pizza in the city and then we got full so we decided to feed some rats and then there was his big friendly one and it came up to me and I tried to pick it up and then it bit me…and then it bit me again…and then again and after that time Shimazaki pulled it away before I was even done making friends with it! It was just scared because it wasn't used to people, that's all." said Sho. Suzuki was…he had no idea what this feeling even was. Disturbed. Yes…but worse…just…this whole thing was disturbing. So disturbing and….
And he had no idea how he had fathered this child.
He curses himself as soon as the thought enters his mind. The Boy looked exactly like him, for one thing, and for the other well…he knew Masami. He knew that she never would have been with another man. While they were together, of course, she'd had a life before him…not that any of those men would ever be able to even so much as speak to her again….it didn't matter. Masami had been…well he knew that she wouldn't have….he hardly knew her. She had left and he hadn't even known that she had even been thinking about leaving and….and maybe he didn't know anything about her at all…..he was being insane.
Sho was his Son and Masami didn't have an adulterous bone in her body.
"So….where had the best pizza? Come on, after all of this you have to have figured out where had the best." asked Fukuda as he put his hand over Sho's and knitted the cut shut. The process had always been disturbing to witness…and to be on the receiving end of as well. Suzuki couldn't remember the last time he'd been injured at all let alone to the point that he needed Fukuda to heal him…but he did remember the first time. They had been children and they had been doing something stupid…stabbing each other with compasses….and that had been Fukuda's fault.
He had stabbed back.
When a person reached into their bag, warned you that if you didn't shut up you'd stab them with your geometry compass, and then warned you again that they would make good on their plan then maybe the thing to do was to shut up. So he had managed to win one game out of seventeen, he didn't need to gloat about it…and he had been gloating. Suzuki may not have been the best at socializing but…well he knew when someone was gloating towards him…so of course he'd had to stab Fukuda….and he had known that Fukuda was in the same class he was and had the same geometry compass…but he never would have thought that Fukuda had it in him to stab him in the arm…
But he had.
"Dodo pizza in Moscow…and Shimazaki agrees with me so there!" said Son. He kicked his legs and made the bed bounce when he said that. He was so tiresome sometimes….all the times.
"Well if Shimazaki thinks so I guess that it must be true." Said Fukuda with a roll of his eyes which meant, as far as Suzuki knew, Fukuda was being sarcastic. Good. Son did not need to idolize Shimazaki any more than he already did.
"….don't agree with Shimazaki." Said Son. His aura was pointed there, sharp, and just….Suzuki had no idea what any of that was about. Son was…possessive…when it came to Shimazaki he noticed. Probably because he looked up to him. They were similar, in mannerisms and dress and impulse control issues, to the point that when Suzuki looked at Shimazaki he sometimes swore that he was looking into his future with his Son….
The bad version of the future.
"Alright, I won't….and I think that he and I would disagree about the thing with the rats, too. Don't play with city rats." Said Fukuda
"They're disturbing creatures." Said Suzuki before he could think. He was not involved in this conversation and…and he didn't even want to be. He just…well Son's back was to him and his aura was guarded and…well Suzuki could say whatever he wanted to say to whoever he wanted to say it to. He was Suzuki Touichirou, he could say and do whatever he wanted to.
"No, they're cute and fun…what would you know about fun…" muttered Son. Suzuki…well as much as he wanted to smack his Son over the head he didn't. Shigeko would not have liked it…and Son was not worth losing Shigeko over. Even if he was an impudent little…Suzuki didn't even want to say. Not even in his own mind.
"So, about the rat thing, is that why you ran off right after the show? You two wanted to go and play with some rats?" asked Fukuda
"No, that came later. Shimazaki wanted pizza and I wanted to leave because big sis's friend is…" said Son
"She's what?" asked Fukuda. He leaned in closer to Son and put his hand on his shoulder…and Suzuki didn't understand why. When you wanted someone to explain something to you then the thing to do was to order them to explain. Son was not beyond Fukuda's command. Fukuda was, in a lot of ways, something akin to a family member towards Son. Not Shigkeo, no, she was beyond such things. Son was still such a child and he had that kind of relationship with Fukuda…which was good…
Less for Suzuki to do.
"She wanted….she followed me to the bathroom and tried to kiss me and then when I said that I wouldn't, because of Emmy, she told me that I was weird…but she's the weird one. Shimazaki says that if I don't want to kiss someone then it's not weird to not want to kiss them….and also…also cheating is wrong and I'll never do it." Said Sho. He crossed his arms when he said that, a gesture of finality, and that…well it was finality. He had done the right thing. A girl had thrown herself at him…and he had said no…at his age he had not only said no but had never even considered saying yes…
Amazing.
"Not alwa-" said Fukuda
"Sho…" said Suzuki. He…he had no idea what else to say. What he could say. He loved Sho. That was what he wanted to say. The words…he could feel the words coming up and…and he couldn't let them. If he said those words then he would just…well Sho would ask questions and Suzuki could never let Sho see just how terrible his father could be.
He did not need to know why they could never go back to Korea…or Osaka….or about Mukai….
"What? You're going to tell me that I'm supposed to want to kiss girls so I have to kiss every single girl that wants to kiss me?" asked Sho. Suzuki shook his head. No. He never would have taught his Son a lesson so terrible. He loved….he loved the fact that Sho was not making his mistakes. He had made so many mistakes…and one his mistakes was out there alive in the world and…and he had no way of knowing if that was his mistake….but…well…
Sho would never have to worry about that.
"No. I was going to say that you made the right choice and…and that I'm proud of you. Of the man that you're becoming." Said Suzuki. A better man than I. You are going to grow up to be a better man than I will ever be. I have no idea how I fathered you.
"I…whatever, I'm going to go and do…stuff. Later." Said Sho. He got up off the bed and practically ran out of the room. Well then…maybe that was for the best. Suzuki…he had no idea what he was even supposed to say from there. He had said it because he felt it…and he needed to stop listening to Shigeko. She always said what she felt and…well he hadn't hurt Son…but also he had no idea what else to say…even now…
Fukuda was looking at him…and he seemed to want to say something.
"Yes?" asked Suzuki. He didn't want to have to say anything else. His Son…Sho was a better man than he was. Sho at the age of eleven, and on the precipice of the worst time of his life, had managed to say not to a girl who was interested in him. He had no idea if Shigeko's friend was considered to be attractive by Sho's standards…or any standards, really, since the last time he had been attracted to an eleven year old girl was when he had been eleven. Still, he knew himself at that age and if a girl had been interested in him in any way at all he would not have hesitated…he liked to think that if he had been in a relationship he would not have hesitated…but even as a man…Pang Su-jin and Sakata Shiori…..
His Son was a better man than he would ever be.
"You said that you were proud of Sho." said Fukuda. What, did he think that Suzuki was a goldfish or something? He knew what he had jus said. Suzuki was proud of Sho, his child, what was so amazing about that?
"I did. He's my child. I'm proud of him. Move on." Said Suzuki
"But you-" said Fukuda
"I said to move on. He's my Son, I'm proud of him, and he has more self-control when it comes to the opposite sex than I do…so move on." Said Suzuki
"...alright. Anyway just…yeah. Let's get back to work." Said Fukuda
"Good." Said Suzuki. There, now it was all settled. He had said something…that he hadn't thought about…and now…well now that it had been said then there was no way to take it back…and he didn't know if he wanted to take it back. He was proud of Sho. Sho was his Son and…and he was annoying. He was impulsive. He made stupid choices and played with rats and ate garbage and fought with everyone….but Suzuki…well he was proud of him.
He had one hell of a Son.