Mob didn't recognize the ceiling.
She opened her eyes and saw blue. She thought, for a moment, that she had been outside. That she had been looking up at the sky…but the sky did not have ceiling fans. The sky did not have ceiling fans or paint chips or cobwebs. The sky also…well it wasn't inside. She was inside, not outside, and she had no idea where inside even was.
There was a bed. She must have been in a bedroom.
She sat up and brushed her hair out of her eyes. She had gone to sleep in her braids…which was weird. She had braids and…and she'd had them before. She didn't have her bows, though, she had lost them both….she had lost one when she had come in…she closed her eyes. She sat up and kept her eyes closed. Her head…it hurt. She….was she tired? She had…she'd just had a nightmare….no….it had been real. She'd been….she was at the Seventh Division and…and she had yelled at Fukuda. She opened her eyes. She had yelled at him and told him that talking to him was like having a period….she never should have ever even thought about saying that…..ever. She had also told him to go away…to go away and never come back….
She had been so mean….so very mean….and….she opened her eyes.
Windows. Not the Seventh Division. That building didn't have any windows….this one did. A lot of sunlight. She could feel…her aura was kind of…dim. Just a little bit. She…she could feel….there. There was a chair next to her and…and it felt like dad. This whole place felt like dad….this whole place felt like dad and…and she just…she got up. She got up and…and she was in pajamas? She was in her long blue nightgown, the one that she wore in the winter. It was summer and….and why had she put this on? Why was she wearing this and….and when had she….when had she changed into this? When had….the last thing she remembered was being more upset than she had ever been in her entire life….
Mukai.
Mob ran for the door. She…she couldn't feel Mukai! She had…she had come to see Mukai and…and she couldn't feel her! Her own little sister…and this was her little sister. Dad had made her. Dad had cheated on mom and made a whole new human being…like…like it was nothing! He was married to mom and…and now she would never come back! He had no idea what he had done! Dad…how could he have…how could he have….
What was wrong with him!?
The hallway shook…she knew where she was. This was the Tokyo house. This was the Tokyo house and…and she was not supposed to be in Tokyo! She was supposed to be in Seasoning City and she was supposed to be with Mukai. Mukai was her sister and…and she had so much time to make up for! She had to celebrate so many holidays and teach her so many things…all the things that mom hadn't taught her…and the stuff that mom had and…and mom….she was like mom. Mukai thought of her like she thought of mom…as this person who just…left and…and…
And dad had made her into that person!
"Dad!" said Mob as she found him. He had been downstairs in the kitchen sleeping. He had been bent over the kitchen table even though he knew that it was bad for his back. He had fallen asleep with his laptop open and a bunch of tea mugs in front of him…and now they were on the ground. They fell on the ground as he woke up. His powers got all…out of control…and now there was tea and ceramic pieces all over the ground….and on his laptop too…and now she would have to put that in rice and she would have to clean up the kitchen and…
And she wasn't the one who made the mess.
"Shigeko! You're awake!" said Suzuki as he sat up. He winced as his various mugs hit the ground….it didn't matter. replacing all of that would be a drop in the bucket…they were going to be in the red for so long…why did he even care about that?! His Daughter was awake! She had been asleep for almost a day. Sure her eyes had opened occasionally but…well she had always closed them again. But not now. Now she was wide awake….
And she was not happy.
Why? She was the one who was…she was the one who had run away from him. She was the one who had put a hole in the Seventh Division. She was the one who caused all of this….no. He was not angry with her. She was his Daughter and he could never be angry with her. Even though she had lost control again. Even though she had killed so many people….some of which…one of which had been…no. Fukuda….Tadashi….Fukuda was not dead. He hadn't been found and…and he wasn't dead and…
And Suzuki needed to focus on his Daughter right now.
"Dad…why am I here?" asked Mob. She took a deep breath and began to pick the pieces of the mugs up. She had to do this before someone stepped on it. They didn't wear house slippers, those were kind of a bother, they just walked around in socks….or even bare feet since this was summertime. Sho never wore socks in the house during the summer…no. Sho was…not home. He was next door with Shimazaki…and his aura was all….shimmery….and he was with Shimazaki….
He was smoking again.
She…understood. He had been through a lot. Dad had…done something unforgiveable. Mob had never been married or had babies…or even been someone's girlfriend…kisses didn't count. She had never been in mom's position but…but if dad cheated on her then…then it made sense that she left. Mob loved Teru, she wasn't his girlfriend but she loved him, and the thought of him kissing another girl made it feel like her organs were trying to crawl out of her stomach. Dad…he had been married to mom…and not only had he kissed another woman but he had done….everything else with her…including making a baby! Another human being and…and Sho…he had been keeping that secret from the beginning…and he had only done that because Fukuda had made him keep that secret and…
If Mob had been in his place then she would have smoked too…and she wanted to smoke now…but she had no idea where her Elsa bag was…
"What do you mean?" asked Suzuki as she cleaned up the mess that he had made. That was…normal. She was being normal. She was…not so callous. She was not callous at all. She was kind and sweet and…and was not the sort of person to…to lose control. Her control had always been nearly impeccable…and….and she was fine. She was fine and she was asking him…he had no idea what she had asked him.
Why he had brought her to Tokyo?
That…was something that he would have to think of. A lie…or a half truth. She was asking what she was doing in Tokyo…or maybe she was asking why he had brought her into the world….but he hadn't brought her into the world but…but maybe she was starting to wonder about that. Maybe she had no memory of what had happened and now she was having some sort of existential crisis and…and he could deal with that…
Please, let this be an existential crisis.
"Dad…I don't want to yell at you…so please just tell me. Why am I in Tokyo right now?" asked Mob. She was not going to be mean to dad. She had been mean to Fukuda and….and she couldn't feel him. He was either at home and his home was out of range or…or he had just…done as she had said. She had never bene so mean before…that was the meanest that she had ever been in her life…and she had to make it right….even though she didn't really want to. He had taught Sho to lie…and he had kept a terrible secret…and he had been the one to take her own little sister away from her….
She didn't want him back…but she just…she had to be a good person…even though it was so hard to be a good person sometimes….
"You don't remember?" asked Suzuki. Good, this was good. He didn't always remember what happened when he exploded….and she was very similar to him…so maybe he could just…make this all seem like a bad dream. He had no idea what she knew…what her brother had told her…and what it was that Sho knew.
"Remember what?" asked Mob. She…had no idea what there was to remember. She knew that she had been upset…and she had gone away to scream and cry…and now she was in Tokyo. She was in Tokyo and in her pajamas even though it was daytime….she had no idea what time it was since she didn't know where her phone was…but she knew that she should not have been in her pajamas. She should have been in her day clothes…and she should have been with her baby sister….
She should have been with Mukai…but she was here….and so was dad….
"Do you remember what happened?" asked Suzuki. He hated lying to her. He hated lying but…but he was going to have to. To keep the peace…to keep his household in order…to just…to make everything right. He…had no idea what she knew. Mukai…may or may not have been her sister and…and she was too young to know how terrible he could be. How terrible men were. She didn't need to know about….about infidelity…and how easy it was to commit. She didn't need to know how terrible her father was.
She was still just a child.
"I remember…yelling at Fukuda…and then I ran away and then…and then I was here." Said Mob. She was not going to yell at dad…or tell him that…that she was mad at him…no. Mad was not a big enough word. She threw accidentally crushed the last of the ceramic pieces and…and she hadn't….she didn't want to break things…but she was so mad and….and she just….how could he?! The house rattled….the house rattled and dad put up a barrier….and then he let it drop…and now he was staring at her…and his aura felt…
Scared?
"Do you remember anything else about Tadashi….about Fukuda?" asked Suzuki. He let his barrier fall and…and he was fine. She wasn't angry enough to explode and…and she hardly ever exploded anyway and…and he was going to be fine. So was she…and so was Tadashi. He wasn't dead, he had looked for Tadashi himself…and he was not dead. He was just…scared? He ran away when he was scared…and he should have been! He was the cause of all this! He was the one who told Sho…brought him to the Seventh Division…
Now Suzuki was the one in danger of exploding.
He exorcised his emotions. He could not afford to lose control. He was the adult there….and he should have been better than this. He was the one who was supposed to guide her…he had failed her. That was why she had left him. He had failed her and….and that baby had been there and….and he had given Shigeko that baby…and he had let Fukuda take her away and…Daughter…Shigeko…she had been so upset….she had been upset and…and even if by some miracle she had just been there to see her brother…she knew the truth and….
And he exorcised his emotions….as best as he could.
"Yeah….I remember that he taught Sho how to lie…and I told him to go away…and…and…and I just…..tell me why I'm here!" said Mob. She shouted and stomped her foot when she said that…the kitchen window cracked…and she heard more cracking. She heard cracking and…and now she didn't. She was here and she was fine and she had no idea where she had gone for a second and….and she was here and….and dad wasn't telling her anything!
"Shigeko…lower your voice." Said Suzuki. He took a step back from her…just one. He was not afraid of her…he could never be afraid of her…but she was…he loved her. He loved her and…and he was not going to say anything more. He was not going to tell her that she was never to speak to him like that again…and he was not going to tell her that she had no right to….this was his Daughter…and one did not talk to their Daughter like that.
Not if he didn't want her to leave….and she could leave. She could so easily leave.
"Dad….I'm trying! I'm trying and…and I don't want to yell at you but…but you just….how could you?!" asked Mob. She was tired. She had been sleeping. She had woke up in her pajamas in dad's bed so she must have been asleep…but she was still so tired and…and she wanted to lay down…in her bed at the Seventh Division. Not here. Not in Tokyo. She wasn't supposed to be in Tokyo! She was supposed to be in Seasoning City with her little sister and her little brother…but her little sister was far away and her little brother was next door smoking with Shimazaki and…and she wanted to be next door…but she also wanted to be in Seasoning City and….
And she just didn't want to be here!
"How could I what?" asked Suzuki. No. He did not like this. Women….why did they do this? Why did they have to be so vague all the time? He had done a lot of things that she would find distasteful…she needed to be specific….or not. Maybe they could just go around in circles until their faces turned blue and they passed out.
"How could you….you know what you did…." Said Mob. She didn't want to say it. Her dad had done…all the things….with a woman who was not her mom. She didn't want to talk to her dad about this. She didn't want to talk about this to anyone…or even think about this. She knew that her parents had done…all the things….that was how she and Sho had gotten her….but she also knew that her own dad was a cheater….that was how….Mukai…had gotten here.
"What did I do?" asked Suzuki. This would be the thing to end the….fight. Whenever he and Masami quarreled….on those rare times that they quarreled….whenever he asked her what he had done she just told him that he had done nothing and then she just went off to watch television or take a nap…and he would have loved to watch television or take a nap with Shigeko….he wanted to hold her…he needed to hold her…
He loved her so much…his Daughter….his only Daughter….
"Dad….don't make me say it. Why are you trying to make me say it? I don't even like thinking about it….I don't want to have to say it too." Said Mob. Nope. She didn't want to talk about this part of her dad's life. Not with mom and not with…whatever lady had tricked him into making Mukai….some lady had probably told dad that she liked him and then made him do…all the things and…and maybe it wasn't dad's fault. Minori had said that boys couldn't be trusted, that if they saw a girl they liked then they thought with their….um…she didn't want to think about this! Even if dad might have been tricked and lied to…and…and stuff…..
"Say what?" asked Suzuki. He…knew what she would say. For once in his life he knew what a woman was getting at. She knew about Mi-cha…about Mukai. He knew about her and he knew that she knew…that she had a vague idea…as to where babies came from….and he did not...this was not the thing that he wanted to discuss with his Daughter!
Or with anyone for that matter!
"You cheated on mom." Said Mob. She said the words….she said the words and….and they made her feel like….like she had just licked the spilled tea off the ground. Like she had gotten down on her hands and knees and licked all that tea off the ground….and also…something else gross! The inside of her mouth felt so gross and…and she just…this was so gross! This was the worst! She just…saying it had made….saying it had made it real….even though it was real….because Mukai was there…
Mukai was a person who existed in the world because of dad…and she loved her sister…and she loved her dad…and it wasn't like she didn't want Mukai to exist but…but she just…she didn't know…she just….
"Shigeko….don't talk about-" said Suzuki. No…not from his Daughter. He wanted to…to lick the tea off the floor…or something equally disgusting. She did not need to speak to her father about this…and he did not need to speak to his Daughter about this and…and he loved her and…and…and he just….she should not have been talking about this! How could she just…say….that….that was not her place….
She was his Daughter…she did not need to question him…she had no right to question him…she had no right to…to talk about….any of this!
"You cheated on my mom! You made her leave! You made my mom leave because you had to…to…to have sex with someone else and-" said Mob. She couldn't keep it inside. She had to let it go. She had to let it go…but not in the good way. Not in the way where you accepted yourself and ran off to the mountains and…and she wanted to run off to the mountains. She wanted to run away and…and she just….dad….he had cheated on mom and…and now he was getting upset and…and he had no right to be upset!
And he had no right to hit her either.
"You hit me…" said Mob. She hadn't seen it coming. One minute she had been talking. One minute she had been talking and then…there had been a loud sound…and her face hurt. Dad still had his hand raised up…his eyebrows were up high…she turned away. She saw herself in the fridge…it was all shiny and chrome and….and there was a big red hand print on her face….and there…a purple mark…where his ring had been….
"I-I-I….I didn't mean to! You just….you were saying things and-" said Suzuki as he put his hand down. He reached over to her. His hand touched her shoulder…and she pushed him off. She pushed him off and…and he tried again. He tried to grab her, to turn her around, but she didn't want to look at him…and he didn't blame her. He couldn't blame her. A man never struck a woman. That was one of the first things his father had taught him.
Never strike a woman.
When he had been small…in kindergarten….there had been a little girl who liked to pull his hair….and pinch him…and one day he'd had enough to he kicked her chair out from under her and then struck her in the face enough times to break her nose. He had been sent home…and then father had struck him in the face with a wooden spoon…and one of his baby teeth had come out….and then…and then father told him that he was never to strike women…ever. It was wrong. That was why there was only one female Scar…and he'd felt terrible doing that…and…well a father had the right to correct his child…but a man did not have the right to strike a woman even if she was asking for it…and Shigeko had been asking for it…
No. She hadn't been. A man did not strike a woman…ever…
"Was I telling lies?" asked Mob. She kept her back to dad. She couldn't look at him. He had hit her. He had hit her and…and he…she hadn't…he hadn't hit her in a while and she…she hadn't done anything wrong! She wasn't the one who cheated! She wasn't the one who went off and made another person like it was…like it was nothing! She hadn't….she hadn't been telling lies…if she had been telling lies then it would have been ok for dad to hit her…but she hadn't been telling lies…
Even though she wanted…she wanted to have been telling lies.
She loved Mukai and…and she wanted them to be real sisters but….but also not! Dad had cheated and…and she loved her dad. She loved dad and she didn't want…she didn't want…she didn't want…her dad was not that person! He was a good person! He was a good person and…and he just wanted to make the world a better place! He wanted to bring espers all over the world together! He wanted everyone in the world to come together and be happy and…..and he wanted…he didn't want…he didn't want bad things to happen and…and he didn't do bad things….and he just…he just….
Her dad was not that person!
"What?" asked Suzuki. He could at least touch her now. His hand was on her shoulder and…and it hurt….
"Was. I. Telling. Lies." Said Mob slowly. She turned to face dad. He was touching her…and she didn't want him to touch her. She never wanted him to touch her again. He had hit her…and…and he had cheated on mom…and he had hit her little brother…and he had just…thrown away her little sister…and now…now he was just…just….he was a bad person.
Her dad…her very own dad….was a bad person….
"You…were not speaking anything that wasn't…something which could be considered…to be truthful…" said Suzuki. He….did not know how to lie…not to her. He…he looked away. She was…she was his everything and…and he was her nothing. He had betrayed her trust and h had struck her and…and she knew now…what he had done and…and she hated him….and he hated himself too….
"You….how could you! You are married to my mom! No wonder she left you! No wonder she took off and never even said goodbye! I would have too if I had been married to you!" said Mob. She wanted to…to hit dad. She had never wanted to hit anyone before in her life but now…now she wanted to hit her very own dad and…and that was wrong. She loved her dad…she would always love him…even though he was a bad person…or maybe just a person who had done bad things and….and she just…
She wanted her dad…her daddy…back…but he was gone now…that was what it felt like….
"Shigeko….you do not talk to me like this!" said Suzuki. She had said….unspeakable things to him and…and he did not hurt her. He did not strike her. Even though he wanted to grab her by the braids and slap her in the face until she cried. Even though he wanted to pick her up and put her through a wall….several walls. Even though he wanted to take her by the arm and drag her outside and strike her with a shinai until she apologized for her insubordination…he did not hurt her….
Even though she deserved…no. She did not deserve it….she could never deserve it….even though she was getting very close to deserving it…..
"I'll talk to you however you deserve! You….you made a person!" said Mob. She pushed dad with her powers…and he didn't move. His aura reached out to her but he pulled it back. He…he was looking at her like he looked at Sho…and he wanted to hurt her. She was struck with the idea that he was going to hit her again and…and he didn't…he had said that he would never hurt her…but he had….he had just slapped her…so he had been lying then…..
Her dad was a liar….her own dad….
"I made a mistake!" said Suzuki. He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close…and she pushed him away. She pushed him away and…she felt hostile….her aura felt hostile…and she had no reason to be hostile! She had…she had gotten over losing Mi-cha…losing Mukai. He had miscalculated…and he had made a mistake…but that had been years ago! She was older and…and if she wanted a baby then…then she could go out and have one and not….not bring up all of his past mistakes!
"People are not mistakes! You can't just…do stuff…like that with a person by mistake! That's for making people and you knew that you were making a person-" said Mob. She hated it, talking to her dad about this, about him making a person but…but he had messed up! He had done more than mess up! He had…he had done something terrible and….and not terrible because Mukai was in the world and…and…and she wanted to see her sister! She wanted to be in Seasoning City and she wanted to be with her sister and…and she still didn't know what she was doing here! And why she was in her pajamas!
"I made a mistake! I make mistakes sometimes, Shigeko, I'm only human! I made a mistake and I made it right-" said Suzuki. He tried to grab her again…and she pushed him away. She pushed him away and…and he couldn't reach over to her. She was strong…he was strong too…and he just…he didn't trust his powers….not now. He didn't trust himself not to hurt her on accident….or on purpose….
"You took her away from me! You sent Fukuda to take her away from me after you gave her to me….you gave me a little sister and you took her away! How could you do that to me!?" shouted Mob
"I did what was best, Shigeko! I…I couldn't take care of her! I could NOT care for her and….and I didn't want her around-" said Suzuki. She didn't understand! She could never understand! She didn't have children and….and she wasn't him. She wasn't him and…and she would never do this to him…or to anyone…and if her husband ever did anything like this he would kill Shigeko's husband…and….and he deserved the same…didn't he?
"Why the hell not?! She's your daughter the same as I am!" said Mob. The curse word had slipped out…and she knew that she should have took it back…but she didn't want to take it back. It fit. Dad…he deserved it…
"No! You are not the same! I wanted you….I want you…and….and I never intended to create her! She just came and I had no idea…for the first three months of her life I had no idea that she even existed and….and I do not want to talk about this with you! And don't curse at me! Or at all!" said Suzuki
"Dad….I will! I will talk about this with you! I will talk about this with you and I will….if I have to curse at you…then I will! How could you! How the hell could you just…just…you cheated on mom! That's why she left!" said Mob
"Shigeko…why can't you do basic math?! Your mother had been gone for…for years! She had been gone for years by that point and…and I had a moment of weakness! I'm sorry! I had a moment of weakness and then I…created Mukai…but she is not my daughter! I have no hand in raising her and I don't want one…and…and if you do then…then you…then you can have your own children and-" said Suzuki
"Dad! Gross! I'm twelve! I can't have a baby!" said Mob. She could, Minegishi had said that if she ever did…stuff…with a boy then she would have to be careful because her body could make a baby, but she was only twelve and she didn't even have a boyfriend and…and even kissing was a lot! She didn't even have anyone to kiss…Teru liked her but they couldn't be together…and she wanted to kiss him again not…do all of those things…with him!
"Yes you can, biologically….I would prefer that you didn't…but….I do not want that child in my household!" said Suzuki. No. She…she was living proof that he was terrible…and if Masami came back home and found another child in the house…one that she did not bear…not that she would ever come back…but even if she did come back…by some miracle….she would have just turned around and left again…and…and he couldn't handle it! Her leaving him…she may have left but…he wouldn't even say a word about it…and…and it wasn't like she had done….what he had done and…and…he wanted his wife….
He wanted his wife…he needed his wife…and he wanted his daughter…he needed his daughter…his only daughter.
"That's…no. You put me in charge of the house and if you don't like this then…too bad! Too bad, Touichirou, too bad! I'm bringing her here! She's coming back and-" said Mob. It had just slipped out, that word, his name…his given name. It had slipped out like the curse word had slipped out….but like the curse word that…that had just…it fit. It fit because…her dad…would never have acted like that. Her dad…her dad had never acted like that….
"You will not! You will not bring that child into this household and you will not call me by my given name! I am your father!" said Suzuki. His given name…never in his life had he ever imagined his Daughter would ever have the nerve to call him by his given name…and…and he…was not going to hurt her….even though…he had NEVER once called his own father by his given name! And his father hadn't even been an esper!
"Then act like it! My dad…my dad would never act the way you did! You….you're not my dad!" said Mob. The words…they just slipped out…..
"Shut…your…mouth…" said Suzuki. She…he knew that she didn't know the truth but….it felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach….and…and he wanted…he just…he wanted to kill some ducks. He didn't know why he wanted to kill ducks, they had never done anything to him, but as a child before father had taught him that a gun was a coward's weapon he had enjoyed killing ducks on his Famicom….and he kind of wanted to get back to that…in games or in life…because that…no sentence had ever filled him with…a painful sort of rage…that was what this as…as what his own Daughter had just said to him….
"No! You are not my father, Suzuki Touichirou, because my father would never have acted the way you-" said Mob. She was being mean…she was being the meanest that she had ever been….she knew that saying these words was hurting her dad. She could see it in his aura…but he wasn't her dad right now. He was just…this other person. This person who…who did bad things…he did bad things and he just…he hurt…he hurt her and he hurt Sho and he hurt Mukai and…and the dad that she knew….the dad that she knew and had known for her entire life would never have done anything like…like….like this!
"Shut your fucking mouth, Shigeko, I am your father! I feed you, I clothe you, I put a roof over your head! I have been there for you since the day I set eyes upon you! You are my Daughter! I love you! Who has sat with you and played endless games of dolls….me! Who has watched the same movie over and over again….me! Who carried you all the way here, changed you into your pajamas and put you to bed after you made a pretty serious mistake of your own? Me!" said Suzuki
"You….you CHANGED my CLOTHES! Dad! What the….why would you do that!?" asked Mob. She turned away from him and covered herself with her arms. She had no idea where her clothes were…there were a lot of unopened boxes stacked up around the house….and she just….she needed her big sweater! Dad…dad could NOT SEE HER NAKED ANYMORE! She…she…..nobody had seen her naked in years and…and….
DAD HAD SEEN HER NAKED!
"Because you were filthy." Said Suzuki. Well that was…he had no idea why she was upset with him now….but as long as they were off the subject of his infidelity then he was going with it.
"Dad….you….you can't SEE me naked! I'm a GIRL!" said Mob. She was a girl and dad was a boy and….and she just…it wouldn't have been that bad if she had been a baby or something. When she'd been little mom had given her baths with Sho…and when she had been really little she and Sho used to even walk around naked…but that was only ok when you were a little kid. She wasn't a kid anymore. She had breasts…sort of…and she had hair under her arms and on her legs and…and in other places and…and…and her dad could not KNOW about any of that!
"Your mother used to insist that I help bathe and dress you. I don't see why it's a problem now…and you weren't naked. I simply exchanged one dress for another." Said Suzuki. Masami had always been on him to help the children get dressed….and really it was about time that he did as she asked. He had no idea what Shigeko was so upset about….but as long as she wasn't cursing at him or calling him by his given name then he was fine with this.
"Dad….I AM NOT a baby anymore! You can't do stuff like that! That was only ok when I was little…like how little Mukai is now…and…and if you want to dress your daughter then you can dress Mukai! You can feed her and clothe her and put a roof over her head like you do for me and Sho…your other kids!" said Mob
"Shigeko…can we please argue about me dressing you and not about….this?" asked Suzuki with a sigh. He had no idea what she was so upset about, it wasn't like he was someone other than her father, and she was his child. She had been filthy…and he changed her…because he was her father! And how dare she think otherwise!
"No….wait…yes. You're right. I'm in charge of the house…and the group…and I say that baby sis and her mom…no. Just baby sis…since her mom…you did all the things with her mom-" said Mob. She wanted to throw up even saying it…and…and that woman…she had tricked dad into doing….THINGS! All the things! Dad…he just…he…well just…this was….she didn't want to take Mukai away from her mom but…just….just….
Mob had a headache.
"Shigeko…no. Do not ask me about….that. I never…was with….Scar Tsuchiya…and Mukai's mother is none of your business! My affairs…no! Not like that! I mean-" said Suzuki
"Good. That makes things easier. Mukai and her mom are joining the group and Mukai is going to live with us and I'm going to take care of her and…and we're going to be a happy family. That's what's going to happen….and we're not going to talk about this anymore." Said Mob
"Daughter…stop it. Shigeko….you are not…stop it! You are not in charge here. I do not need that child…I do not need a reminder of the biggest mistake that I have ever made in my life just…lingering…here. I am not her father. I am, at best, a genetic donor. She does not need me in her life…and I do not want to be in her life." Said Suzuki
"Dad….Touichirou…if you don't want to be in her life then…then you don't want to be in my life either." Said Mob. She…said it. There…the words…the worst words that she had ever said in her life. She was a…a nice person…and love…she loved her dad….and he wasn't acting like her dad but…but she loved him and…and she didn't want to send her dad away….but she wanted her sister back more than she wanted her dad in the house with her.
"Shigeko…what are you saying?" asked Suzuki. He felt…his chest hurt. The lightbulb above him exploded in a shower of sparks and glass….and…and his barrier destroyed it…and…and he just…he wanted to hold Shigeko. He wanted to pull her into his arms and…and hold her…but he knew that she would push him away…and…
And he didn't know if he could handle that.
"I'm saying…that you should…leave." Said Mob. If dad couldn't live in the house with Mukai then…well then he could live in his own house. He could live with Fukuda…he was gone now…he could live on his own then. If he didn't want to be a member of this family then he could move away….next door…and he could let her and Sho and Mukai be a happy family…it would be hard being away from her dad…but he would be right next door…and…and he wasn't her dad anyway…if he was going to act like…like a bad person.
She knew her dad….and she knew that he was not a bad person….but he was acting like a bad person right now…so he could move next door if that was the way that she was going to be!