Miniature golf was the best kind of golf.

In Mob's opinion, anyway. She liked this better than normal golf because…well she had never been normal golfing but it looked boring. There was just a whole lot of grass, which was boring, and also there weren't any real obstacles around the holes. Also it didn't glow in the dark. That was an important part of miniature golf, everything glowing in the dark, even though…well it kind of left Shimazaki out. She felt sort of bad that he would never know how cool it was in here. Everything was all big and dark and neon and…and Sho would have loved it too…..he would have had to so much and….and this was still the best kind of golf. Even if her little brother wasn't there and one of her best, oldest, and closest friends couldn't even see how cool it was in there.

Not that not being able to see was stopping Shimazaki from winning.

"Fuck yeah! Hole in one again!" said Shimazaki. He wished that Sho had been there to see that. He would have, well after he swooned of course, hit Shimazaki as hard as he could with his golf club. Then they could have had a sword fight or something…God…that would have been great…but that was alright. This was for the best. Sho was going to come back and maybe in the time he was away he would get over that damn crush and then they could play miniature gold without the blushing, stuttering, and swooning.

Which would be good, Shimazaki could do some guilt free ass kicking in that case.

"Congratulations!" said Serizawa because that was what you were supposed to say when your friend did well. Shimazaki was his friend and he was happy that his friend was happy. Miss Suzuki was happy too….well everyone was happy….well maybe not Minegishi. It was hard to tell with them sometimes. They didn't do well in winter, they said, because of the lack of plant life. Shimazaki had also said to be extra nice to them until the seventeen…and also not to ask why. Not that he would have and not that he needed to be told to be nice to his friend.

He was always nice to his friends.

He would have been even if Miss Suzuki hadn't told him to be. He wanted them to keep on being his friends so, of course, he was nice to them. They were nice to him, too. They included him in this. They had included him in the idea hat, that was a new thing where they wrote outing ideas in a hat…mostly because there had been fighting….and even though they hadn't chosen his sit at home and play games idea this was still nice. Even if it was big in there….but also it was dark. It was so dark and there were walls…and also they were the only people there. Miss Suzuki had rented out the whole place just so that he could feel comfortable.

She was such a good friend like that and he had no idea what he had done to deserve someone like her.

"Please….don't encourage him. For the love of God don't encourage him." said Hatori. Shimazaki, high off his ass, and holding a golf club….no. That was just…no. Who had suggested this!? Who had thought that this would have been a good idea?! He had wanted to go to the neon lights museum! That would have been cool…and safe…and also he knew that this was a complete asshole thought to have but Shimazaki would have stayed behind since he couldn't even sense light…not that he was going to start drama by purposely excluding people….

He just….wasn't Shimazaki's biggest fan…for obvious reasons.

Reasons that made him want to run and hide in the handicapped stall in the men's room until all of this was done. He knew that, at some point, he was getting hit with either that golf club or a golf ball or….or something! Had he had enough soda that he could, feasibly excuse himself to the bathroom and hide…no. That was not an option.

Serizawa needed him and, honestly, that guy had way more reason to run and hide than he did.

"There is such a thing as winning gracefully, Ryou." Said Minegishi rolling their eyes. Next time they were stuffing the outing hat with either 'book store' or 'coffee shop' or just 'sit at home and hang out with Mob' or something like that. They strongly suspected that Ryou had written this suggestion, and he could write he just did so very poorly, just so that he could gloat and also fill the void that Sho had left in his life.

Yeah, this was definitely a Sho and Ryou activity.

Ryou had been taking Sho's absence….not well but…well he'd been taking it. He knew that this was for the best, or at least he better have known that this was for the best, and he better not have been thinking of doing anything crazy like asking the little lovesick monster to come back. No, he needed a break from Ryou and Ryou needed a break from him. They brought out the worst in each other, first of all, and second of all Minegishi…well they'd had quite enough of the steadily growing crush/obsession Sho had with Ryou. Shibata was wrong. It wasn't cute. It was unpleasant for everyone, them included, and if Sho knew what was good for him then he had better have planned on coming back normal.

And if Ryou knew what was good for him then he had better have planned on cutting out all the gloating.

"I'm aware. That was gracefully. I was about to do a flip but, without Sho here to tell me how awesome I am, it would have been pointless." Said Shimazaki

"I can tell you how awesome you are. You're awesome…but…um…maybe when you win you could…try not to make people feel bad." Said Mob. Shimazaki…was not a good winner. Neither was Sho. They were both bad losers too….and she knew that she shouldn't have been thinking this way but…well this was a lot easier without both of them having come with. Also if Sho had been there then she couldn't have drank because then he would have wanted some too and he always overdid it. She didn't want to teach Sho about moderation…and also she didn't want Minegishi to teach her about moderation. That was why she had a bunch of…well she wasn't sure what it was but it made her throat burn and it made her happy…in this metal flask thing that Shimazaki had gotten her. He was really nice like that, when he thought about her and stuff.

But he wasn't very nice when he won….but that was ok. She still loved him.

"I can't help it if you guys suck." Said Shimazaki with a shrug.

"No, you're just using your telekinesis, now move over and let Hatori have a turn." Said Shibata. Why had he suggested this? Well because it had looked fun…and also….well he figured that Shimazaki wouldn't have wanted to come…and he really needed to reevaluate how well he knew the man. Yeah. This was totally a Shimazaki thing. A Sho thing, too, and….and he missed him so much….but that was alright. He'd be back soon and then they could do whatever he wanted and he'd be so happy…and then he'd have all kinds of good memories for when he grew up and…oh! They grew up so fast….well most of them….

Shimazaki was a few years overdue.

"I-I don't have to!" said Hatori. Nope. He was not getting that close to Shimazaki. Not when he had a golf club in his hands, not when he was high off of winning, and not when he was regular high either…and also drunk. Well Hatori suspected that he was based on how many sneaky drinks from a flask he'd been taking. Mob too but she was a lot nicer when she was drunk.

"You'll do fine, Hatori, I believe in you…and also I'll make sure that Shimazaki doesn't use his powers to cheat." Said Mob as she patted Hatori on the arm. That didn't feel weird anymore. Not good weird like she was full of angry butterflies but also not bad weird like she had to run and hide. He knew that she had asked him out for real…but also…well also that was ok now. It had happened a while ago and they were still friends so…so it was ok. They were ok.

Also whatever was in this flask was very ok.

"I couldn't do something that precise even if I wanted to. You all just suck." Said Shimazaki

"No, no, nobody sucks. You're just really good." Said Mob. It was very important to make people feel good about themselves, especially your friends, so that was what she did. She…well it would have been better if they hadn't been playing for points. Why did they have to be so competitive? Next time they would just play for fun.

"Thank you, Mob, it's nice to know that somebody here loves me." Said Shimazaki

"You know I love you, Ryou, even when you act like more of an eleven year old than the eleven year old. Now please, for the love of God, let Hatori take his shot already." Said Minegishi as they put their hand on Ryou's shoulder. An unspoken aural conversation passed between them. It ended in Ryou stepping to the side. They loved him, they really did, but he could be…a lot…sometimes. Sometimes he was good a lot, something so good that they weren't entirely sure if he was even real or just a dream, and then he was the other kind of a lot. The kind of a lot that made them want to start ripping out their hair…and they wanted to do that enough as it was….but….

They still loved him…even if he could be a lot.

"You can do it, Hatori, you just have to get it past the alligator. You can do it!" said Mob. She stumbled back a little, just a little, and it was only because…because her shoes were new. She had gotten some new boots since Minori said that her old ones were terrible. They had Elsa on them…and also they had lights. These were blue and had a heel….not a high one but Minori said that the only thing nice about her was her legs….so that was why she was stumbling. Because these were new shoes and not because she had trouble with moderation.

Because she didn't.

"Miss Suzuki! Are-are you alright?" asked Serizawa. He reached over and steadied her. She…she was fine…right? Right?! What if…what if she was hurt or…or….or…he didn't know what he'd do without her and-

"She's fine, now calm down. I would like to finish this without us getting banned from yet another tourist trap." Said Minegishi. They reached over and pulled Mob closer. She smelled…well then. Someone had been hitting the sauce…and hard. Goddammit Mob…moderation! Also those ridiculous boots didn't help exactly…but they would talk to her later. Not now. When Mob was more sober and Serizawa wasn't about to blow the roof off his place.

"I'm fine….now come on, we're distracting Hatori." Said Mob. She didn't want to talk about this. Maybe later…or maybe Minegishi would just forget. She knew what that look meant, she knew Minegishi's looks, and she knew that there was a long talk coming later…and she liked talking to Minegishi…but not about moderation and stuff like that.

"I-I'm fine….I'm just….thinking." said Hatori. He…was bad at this. He was really bad at this. It was just…had to make the ball go where he needed it to go and…and it was dark in here….and also…also his glasses were smudged and….and…he had a headache and...and….and his phone was vibrating!

"One second!" said Hatori as he pulled his phone out of his pocket. Maybe it was just another notification or maybe…yup. Everyone he knew was there but one person and that one person had decided to finally text him back…and tell him that he didn't want to come. He didn't like min golf, or crowds, or going out….and also mini golf was way too easy…

Easy?!

"What the fuck do you mean, 'easy'?" asked Hatori. He sent a picture of what he was doing…and he left the 'fuck' off because Suzuki didn't like that. He really hated cursing…and a hell of a lot of other things….but cursing was a big thing for him and Hatori didn't want to piss him off. He was already on edge enough with Fukuda being gone and whatever he had going on that he didn't want or need backup, his exact words, for.

"Really? You're texting Suzuki right in front of Shibata? Hatori….for shame." Said Shimazaki with a shake of his head. Not out of any moral outrage, no, just because it was funny. This whole situation was fucking hilarious. Suzuki actually set up a date for Shibata and Hatori…just….this was so perfect…

"Shimazaki, gross! My dad is married!" said Mob. She wanted her friends to be happy and she wanted her dad to be happy….but dad was not a cheater! He was married to mom and he loved her and he missed her every single day, he had told her that himself, and also…also her dad was not a cheater! And neither was Hatori! Hatori was one of the nicest people he ever knew and also…also who could do that to Shibata?! He was one of the nicest people ever!

"Also Hatori and I aren't dating." Said Shibata. At least he thought that they weren't dating. President Suzuki shipped him with Hatori but…he didn't think that he could actually make them fall in love and…things…right? He didn't have that kind of power…right? Hatori…well he was nice but they weren't compatible like that….well Shibata was at least a little bi and Hatori was figuring himself out….but if they started a relationship then he wanted it to be a real one and not one in which Hatori was figuring himself out.

"I-I'm sorry." said Serizawa. That was sad. They had gone on a date and they weren't together…and he knew that people could date without ending up together but…well that seemed very sad. He knew that if he ever went on a date with a girl she would have been someone he loved a lot…because the thought of dating a girl was so terrifying…but maybe that was just him…just him being weird like usual.

"It's ok. There's still time, don't worry Shibata." Said Mob. Maybe their date just hadn't been romantic enough. That was very important, things being romantic. She knew that if she went on a date with a boy she would have wanted to ride in one of those two people boats under the stars which music played and they held hands and the stars spelled out their names under an umbrella…and then he would put his coat around her shoulders and tell her that he loved her…and then she would feel something cold on her finger and it would be a ring, but not a human tooth one like Sho gave Emmy, and then the boy would tell her that he couldn't live without her and if she didn't say yes he would throw himself off the boat because a life without her in it wouldn't be a life worth living…and then when they kissed it would feel like fireworks going off inside of her….and then there would be more music and then they'd get married and have a bunch of kids and stuff. Also Minegishi would be there.

So she just had to make that happen…but without Minegishi because she got the feeling that not everyone wanted to spend their lives with her best friend…for reasons she couldn't fully understand.

"Hatori, stop gossiping with our boss and take your shot already. Sometime before Mob arranges a surprise wedding for you and Shibata." Said Minegishi. Nope. They knew that look. Mob was planning something….knowing her it was something from a movie that required a perfectly timed soundtrack. Nope. No more real person shipping. This group was weird enough as it was.

"Are…are those a thing?" asked Mob. She knew that boys weren't allowed to get married, not until dad took over the world and made it ok for boys to get married, but…she could…she could throw a surprise wedding…..she could throw people surprise weddings! What the f-word!? How the h-word hadn't she heard about this before?! She needed to get back to England! She would throw Sho a wedding and…oh! Minegishi and Shimazaki needed a wedding…well Minegishi said that they didn't want one…but….but once they saw the wedding that Mob threw them….oh!

"Hatori, take the fucking shot." Said Minegishi. Great…now they had this to deal with…and if they woke up in a white dress with Mob throwing rice in their face then they would not be able to be held accountable for her action.

"Hang on, Suzuki says that this is all geometry and…and I have no idea what to do with this." said Hatori. Suzuki had sent him a series of picture of what looked like math scribbles on a napkin…a blood stained napkin? What…Hatori got the feeling that he had vastly overestimated how little backup he needed….also it looked like Fukuda would be coming back…great. Just great.

"Let me see….well that makes perfect sense. You're just a moron." Said Shimazaki as he took Hatori's phone from him and held it in front of his face…where it was promptly ripped from his hands.

"Here you go." Said Shibata as he handed Hatori back his phone. He glared at Shimazaki even though he knew that it was useless. It was cathartic, though, that was a thing that mattered. It was good for the soul.

"Thanks." Said Hatori. He held his phone upside up and then upside down…and it made no sense. That was…a lot of math…and a lot of blood.

"That's…um….I don't know." Said Serizawa as he leaned over. That was a lot of drawings that he didn't understand…and numbers too. He didn't know if that was something that he should have known because he was an adult now or if it was some super smart math thing that President Suzuki could do.

"Some kind of geometry." Said Minegishi as they leaned over and checked on…whatever that was. Yeah, they were not a math person. They liked books, they liked documentaries, they didn't like numbers. Why take up space in their mind with something that they could just use a calculator for?

"What's geometry?" asked Mob. Yuck. More dad math. He liked math a lot. He liked it because it always made sense no matter what, he had said, and that made sense….but also math was very complicated too and not worth it. Not when they made calculators and phones and stuff.

"All of that." Said Minegishi with a wave of their hand.

"Oh….is it dangerous?" asked Mob as she stared at the picture for a little while longer. That was blood. That had written on a napkin and there were spots of blood and…and he was ok…right? He wasn't going to die….right? He wasn't hurt….right? She just…she wanted her dad to be ok…she really did….and also…well she didn't want Fukuda to come back…but she wanted him to be ok….

"For the uninitiated, why?" asked Minegishi

"Because there's blood there….and also on the end of dad's sleeve there…" said Mob

"That's-" said Minegishi. They had to think something up and they had to think it up quick. Right. Suzuki was off scouting talent, which could get violent, and he had specifically said that he didn't want any backup…which was good because Minegishi didn't want to go with him or be alone with him in any capacity. This was bad, though, because it looked like he'd gotten himself hurt…without their only healer there….and where Mob could see….great.

Just fucking great.

"Just ketchup! You know how your dad is about ketchup." Said Shibata. Mob was too young to know…a lot of things. She'd never be old enough to know just how new talent was acquired….but now she was still way too young!

"Yup. Ketchup." Said Hatori. Mob was way too sensitive to know about that stuff….what happened on these talent gathering missions.

"But that's not-" said Mob. She knew very well what blood looked like and she knew that she was looking at blood, her dad's blood, which was not inside of his body where it belonged!

"Or maybe his mission took a turn for the worst and now, with his dying breath, he's taking the time to teach Hatori how to count." Said Shimazaki. What? Mob wasn't stupid and she wasn't a little kid anymore. She deserved to know exactly what happened on these missions.

"What?" asked Mob. That….what? Why…why had she let Fukuda go?! Dad needed him!

"Is…is he going to be ok?" asked Serizawa. He had never lost anyone before let alone a friend…and….and he had no idea what he was supposed to do…to just…keep calm…because he could have lost his friend…he could have been losing his friend right now and…

And something was pressed into his hand.

"Suzuki is fine. You and Mob share this until you're calm. Hatori, take your god dammed shot already." Said Minegishi as they pressed their pen into Serizawa's hands. If they ended up getting kicked out they would rather have gotten kicked out for getting high and not for killing everyone and destroying what was probably the only glow in the dark mini golf course in Amsterdam.

"But we're inside and-" said Mob. There were rules about smoking inside and Serizawa wasn't as good as she was about being sneaky…and also…well also she didn't want to have another thing to worry about. Sometimes she felt like she did nothing but worry. Worry about her friends and her family and if Sho was ok being so far away from her…and also why dad had been all bloody. Well only his sleeve had been bloody…and she had seen him bleed before. Like when he cut himself shaving…but he hadn't done that, cut himself, that morning…and that had been more blood on his sleeve than when he cut himself shaving…

Not enough for him to die, maybe, but….well his blood should have been inside of him where it belonged and not on the outside. He was a boy after all.

"Don't distract Hatori. He's fragile." Said Minegishi shutting all of that down before it even started. Mob did not need to freak herself out. She did not need to freak Serizawa out. Nobody needed to be freaked out. They were tired. The world was dead and cold. Their head hurt. Their organs hurt. Everything hurt and they just wanted to get through this with minimal drama and freak outs….was that really so much to ask?

Evidently it was.

"I'm not fragile…." Muttered Hatori as he put his phone back in his pocket. He took a deep breath and tried to remember everything that Suzuki had ever told him about geometry…and then he did his best to forget it. All he could remember were words that made no sense and shapes that didn't need to be as complicated as they were….and…and maybe he should just take his shot already before Mob started asking more questions about why her dad was, apparently, bleeding profusely all over napkin. Yeah, no, nobody needed to have that conversation with her…especially not him. No, he just had to take a deep breath and take his shot…

And then another…

And then another….

In the end it took seven shots for him to get the ball in the hole. That was….well he didn't care about winning…not as much as Shimazaki did….but he did care. That was just…what the fuck! What the ever loving fuck?! How could someone be so bad at….why….if this had been a game then he would have been able to get it and…and….

Fuck!

"Fuck it! Mother fucking! Suck my fucking-" said Hatori trying his best not to shout. He….had his habits…and he knew that he could be overly dramatic as he'd been told but…but…but seven was way too fucking much! Just…..how…..why….why in the fucking hell did he just-why?!

"Hatori…come on. You're not in your room." Said Shibata as he put a hand on Hatori's shoulder. He got like this when he lost…or just didn't do well. Maybe because he was so young or maybe because he just…put a lot of himself into what he did. Yeah, he had a lot of….passion…about playing games…and passion was always good…

But Mob was right there and they did not need two cursing kids.

"It's ok, you'll do better next time." Said Mob. She wished that he wouldn't curse so much. Shibata didn't like it at all. Shibata acted like he was ok with everything but Mob could tell that he was really bothered. She'd have to work on Hatori's cursing. Even if she did give them a surprise wedding they could still get divorced if Shibata couldn't stand all of the cursing.

"You-you will….next time! Um….what Miss Suzuki said." Said Serizawa. Hatori cursed a lot….and Serizawa….he didn't curse…and he didn't see what was so bad about losing anyway. It was nice just to be out with friends. Well maybe he just felt like that because he hadn't ever had any friends to be out with…or even the ability to go out in the first place.

"No he won't. Don't give him false hope. False hope leads to false self-esteem which leads to him biting off more than he can chew which will lead to him getting driven out into the country and then shot in the back of the head." Said Shimazaki

"…what?" asked Hatori. He reached up and covered the back of his head. That was…he knew what Shimazaki got up to…but he didn't want to think of it. The specifics of it. It was just easier to think of him as a regular asshole, not a murdering asshole…not that Mob would ever have let him….but still.

"I've seen it. Hell, I've been responsible for-" said Shimazaki. She would have liked to hear it. Sho always liked to hear it. Sho begged him for his stories. The others…he didn't get them sometimes. What was wrong with his stories? They were interesting. He made sure to only tell the tame ones but even those were too much for everyone.

Even Toshi…for some reason.

"Ryou, stop it. He's fragile." Said Minegishi borrowing a line from Mob. The last thing that anyone needed was Hatori running and hiding. It would only encourage Serizawa and God knew that Mob didn't need the extra work. She already spent most of her time with that guy clinging to her like death.

"He's just kidding, don't worry." Said Mob as she felt Serizawa grabbing her hand. She knew how fragile he was, even more than Hatori, and she really wished that Shimazaki would stop kidding around like that. It wasn't good for Serizawa or Hatori…and also only Sho thought that it was funny and Sho wasn't there so…yeah. He need to stop already.

"I'm not-" said Hatori. He hated that word. Fragile. When he was going to stop being the fragile one? Serizawa was there and he was ten times more fragile than he had ever been…and he needed to stop thinking like that. This group already had one asshole. They didn't need two.

"Here, let me take my turn." Said Shibata as he stepped in the middle of all of them. Why did everything have to turn into a fight? What did Shimazaki always have to stir shit? What was wrong with…well what was right with him? Yes, that was a better question. He was like this, he wasn't going to change, and…and Shibata….well he had to stay calm…

And he had to control his strength…

Something which was easier said than done. He took his shot…and the ball went flying. Thank God that there weren't any normal people around. He…well he was almost thirty. He was too old to still have that problem. Mob had better control than he did…well she had been drinking like a fish all day…and he wondered if she was up to sharing. This day…it had been…just this weird combination of fun and headache inducing….

They sold liquor here, right?

"You know that this is miniature golf, right?" asked Minegishi as they shook their head.

"That was a good….try. Here, you can have a redo." Said Mob as she pulled the ball back with her powers. It was ok, there weren't any normal people around, and if there were then it would have been a real problem…and maybe…well she would have wanted that problem and not…why ever dad had been covered in blood…why he was bleeding….and why he hadn't told her that he had gotten hurt. She…she was his Daughter and he should have told her but…but maybe it wasn't that bad or….or something. She didn't know. She decided to focus on her friends. She decided to focus on making sure that her friends had a good time….even though dad was out there alone and bleeding and….

And she took another drink from her flask.

She had to worry about her friends now. She had to worry about her friends and how they fought all the time…well Shimazaki started fights because he got bored easily…and she would have to worry about that and…and she would have to worry about making sure that everyone had a good time. Then she would worry about dad…or something. She didn't know. She just had to worry about all of her friends having a good time….even though she didn't know how they couldn't have a good time…

This was miniature golf and miniature golf was the best kind of golf…even if it did make her friends fight.