Mob was a terrible person.
She figured as much, anyway. She had said terrible things to her own dad! She had told him that she didn't want him in her house and that he should move away….you were not supposed to talk like that to your da! Even if he did do…terrible things. Like make babies with people who weren't your mom….or change your clothes while you were asleep. That was…more weird than terrible…and it made her feel weird…but she wished that dad changing her clothes in her sleep had been her only problem!
Not that Mukai was a problem.
Her own baby sister could never be a problem! She as just a baby and…and none of this was her fault…and Mob was happy that she was alive. She was happy that her baby sister was alive in the world as a person and…and they may not have had the same mom but that didn't matter. Dad may have done something terrible when he made her but….but that wasn't her fault and…and Mob was so happy that she would be coming to live in the house with them….and she knew that Sho would be too when she told him….and she didn't care how dad felt. Not right now.
He could feel however he wanted to since he would be living somewhere else….
She didn't know why she had said that….well actually she did. She had been mad…and she was still mad. Dad had been…she had never seen dad like that before. She had never thought of her dad as a bad person….but then he had just gone and done the sort of thing that a bad person did. He'd made Mukai and sent her away and…and that was just…he had hurt her and he had cheated on mom…and also there was the way that he treated Sho for years and years…and…and maybe it was for the best that dad moved out. At least with him gone then Sho wouldn't have to worry about getting hit…and also she would have her baby sister back….yes…this was a good thing…and she wanted to feel good…but right now she felt bad…but that was ok.
She had friends and her friends always helped her feel better.
"Hi everybody! I'm awake now!" said Mob as she opened the door and slipped off her shoes. She wrinkled her nose as she walked in. It was smoky in there….very smoky. She had been missing out. Why had she been asleep for so long? Long enough for them to get here…but not long enough for everyone to unpack. There were boxes stacked to the ceiling…and they hadn't even been sorted. There were boxes labeled for all of her friends and they were all just…stacked up. She could help with that…she wanted to help with that…
She wanted to do anything, really, than go home and face dad after what she'd said.
"Mob! You're awake!" said Shibata from the kitchen. The house shook as he ran over to her…and maybe he should have been more careful…but no! No way! She was finally awake! He'd been worried, he wasn't ashamed to admit it, and without a healer around…well…that could have been bad. That could have been really bad…
But she was ok now so…thank God!
"Shibata!" said Mob as she was picked up. Her arms got caught in the sleeves of her sweater. She had managed to find her giant sweater before she left. It had been in a box marked 'Shigeko's sweaters' and she hadn't realized that she owned enough sweaters for their entire box…but she was glad that she found it…even though she knew that her friends would never make her feel weird or anything. She just…felt weird….well anyone would have felt weird in her positon. Not only was her dad a terrible person but also he'd dressed her like she was a doll or a little kid or something…
She wasn't a doll or a little kid...she was a twelve year old human.
"I'm so happy you're awake!" said Shibata as he hugged her tightly but not so tightly that he hurt her. He maybe shouldn't have even been picking her up, he didn't always know his own strength, but…well he wanted to pick her up. She had been through so much….things that he was never going to tell her about…but she had still been through a lot and she needed a hug. The thing with the Seventh Division…and now whatever that had been with her father just now.
"I am…and I think that I was asleep for a long time…and I don't know why." Said Mob as Shibata tried to hug the life out of her. That was what it felt like, anyway. She knew that Shibata would never have hurt her on purpose. Still, he was hugging her kind of tight…and she felt kind of sore…and she had no idea why she felt so sore…maybe she had slept wrong…or something. That might have been what had happened since dad was the one who had put her to bed….and dressed her too….but she didn't want to think about that.
"Well…you were tired and…um….Hatori! Mob's awake!" said Shibata. He was not going to tell her. She didn't need to know that she had lost control and killed a bunch of people…he knew what it was like to lose control like that. He hadn't ever killed so many people, of course, but he knew what it was like to not know your own strength.
He put Mob down.
"Hey Mob, you're awake." Said Hatori as he walked out of the kitchen with an energy drink in hand. He needed it. He had taken over Serizawa sitting for the ride here and moving in…and that guy…he was a great guy but…yeah. Mob was awake and she could take over…if she was up to it. She had just woken up…well a little bit ago. She had been fighting with her dad it felt like….and he'd talk to Suzuki in a minute. He must have been really stressed. The guy he liked had not only betrayed him but run away on him too…and he had run away….
He had logged into the train station's WI-FI. He was alive.
Suzuki still wasn't taking any of this well…but that was…just how he was. Mob was a lot like him actually. They both took a lot of things way to seriously and they both exploded….and Mob had killed fewer people….but he could keep some things to himself. Like that. He knew that he should have been freaked out…and maybe he was…but for Mob, not of her.
He could never be afraid of Mob, she was way too….Mob, and he didn't just think so because she opened his can for him.
"I am…and here. So you don't hurt your finger like that one time…remember? When your nail got ripped off?" asked Mob as she opened Hatori's energy drink for him. She sort of wanted one…just to feel more awake…but Minegishi said that those were poison because of all the sugar and caffeine. Maybe it was better to stick to smoking, at least that was healthy because it came from plants.
"It grew back." Said Hatori looking down at the new, slightly wonky looking, fingernail…that hadn't been his fault. He'd just had too many energy drinks.
"I remember….Fukuda fixed it….is he around? I should….say sorry….maybe." said Mob. She knew that she shouldn't have said what she'd said, it had been mean and embarrassing, and she knew that also she shouldn't have kicked him out because he was dad's best friend and dad needed him. She…well she had been mad…and she was still mad…but she had to be the one to say sorry…and she had to say sorry to dad too…but dad…well dad had done worse than what Fukuda had done…and also dad was in range, he was easier to find….
She couldn't feel Fukuda but he must have been somewhere in this city…she didn't know how dad could have let him go after he'd been mean to him and betrayed him and stuff.
"He's….said Hatori. He made eye contact with Shibata. They had agreed that they wouldn't tell the kids about all the hurt and dead people…and Fukuda….well he wasn't hurt or dead…but they didn't want to go into what had happened….well Hatori didn't, anyway. He wouldn't have known where to start.
"He's out of my range…but he can't be that far away…right? Dad wouldn't let him go…not after what he did." Said Mob
"Fukuda…is…um…." Said Hatori
"We don't know where he is. He left after the…um….damage happened to the Seventh Division! Nothing serious…they've just got…renovations….to do. Anyway if you're looking for Minegishi I can tell you where they are!" said Shibata. She didn't seem like she remembered….which was good. Very good. He didn't know how she would have ivied with the guilt….Mob was way too…herself…to be able to survive that kind of guilt.
"Um….well I know that they're here but I was really thinking that I should-" said Mob
"They're in the tub! I mean if you want to say 'hi' and….um….Serizawa misses you too. Yeah, he's been missing you really bad…and so has your brother…and maybe Shimazaki too. I don't know, I don't really talk to him." said Hatori
"Well that makes sense, you guys don't get along. Um…I'll say hi to everyone then…and probably hang out with my brother and Shimazaki…and I think that the rest of you can hang out with us too. I mean I didn't ask but I'm sure that Sho wants to hang out with you guys too…and Shimazaki….he likes you guys even though he doesn't always show it." Said Mob. She didn't know why they were looking at each other like that…and she still didn't know why she had been asleep…but she wanted to…well she wanted to see Sho more than anything else….
And she wanted to smoke with him too.
She knew that she was supposed to teach Sho about moderation and stuff. She knew that she was supposed to be a good big sister like that…but she felt like she'd been a pretty bad big sister lately. She felt like she would never be able to be a good big sister ever again. She had let Fukuda take Mukai away…but she'd be back now. She'd bring Mukai back…and her mom…and then they'd have two new friends…even though she knew what she had told Minegishi…that she wouldn't being people into the group without asking…but Mukai wasn't just any old person, she was family, and she'd been a part of the group before so….it was ok…and she was too little go anywhere without her mom…the woman who adopted her and stuff. Not her real mom. Her real mom was a terrible person who tricked dad into doing stuff and she could stay wherever she was and…
…and Mob didn't want to think about this anymore.
Who would? She could feel dad's aura in her range...and he was moving…and he was upset…and she wanted him to be upset. She wanted him to be upset with himself and because of what he did and...and she should not have felt like that. She wasn't ever supposed to feel that way about anyone let alone someone she loved…and she still loved dad. No matter what happened she knew that she would always love her dad…even when he did things like this…she still loved him….and it was confusing. Dad…how he could have betrayed mom even though he loved her…and he had been the one to call her a traitor. She loved her dad…it was confusing….it was confusing and…and she just…
She wanted to understand.
But there wasn't any way for her to understand. This was…it should have been simple…but it wasn't. She was mad at Sho for what he did but she was happy to be with him. She was mad at dad for what he did too, which was a million billion trillion times worse than anything Sho had done, but also she was happy that Mukai was alive and in the world…and she just…she didn't have any idea how she was supposed to…to feel! She wasn't supposed to get mad…she wasn't supposed to be mean…she wasn't supposed to banish people…..she didn't know how she was supposed to be but she knew hot she wasn't supposed to be…
She didn't find any answers at the top of the stairs.
What she did find, however, was a friend. Her best friend. Her very best friend in the whole world! Mob didn't think. She just hugged. The second she got to the top of the stairs she found Minegishi walking to their room…and they were all wet. Their hair was stuck to their head and it stood up in the back…so it was kind of funny…but Mob didn't laugh. She just hugged Minegishi as tight as she could.
She was taller, now, she came up to their chest.
"Hey, look who woke up." Said Minegishi. They brushed their hair down with their free hand. Mob…did not need to see the latest addition to the Minegishi Toshiki scar museum. A white line on the side of their head. Long enough to be noticed…they had lost some hair there….and Mob…she did not need to know what happened. She had gotten up, before, asked what had happened and then fallen back asleep. She didn't remember what had happened…if she had then she would have been a hell of a lot worse than…this…
She would have been doing a hell of a lot more than hugging Minegishi
"Minegishi….I love you." Said Mob. She said it because she felt it…and she had been doing a lot of that lately. Thinking before she spoke…but…that was ok. Now it was at least a good thing that she had said. She loved Minegishi and…and she just…she had to say it!
She had to start saying good things now.
"I love you too, Mob, I love you too." Said Minegishi. They had a headache…well they'd had one on and off since….they had gotten the scar. It was getting worse…but that may have been their stress level rising. The house looked like it was on fire…Ryou's fault. Either he was smoking with Sho or they were having indoor weed based bonfire. They didn't let it show, though, their mounting headache…not when Mob had way worse going on right now.
"Minegishi…do you know why I'm in Tokyo? I woke up here….and I don't know why. Why aren't we in Seasoning City?" asked Mob as she let go of Minegishi. They had a weird look to their aura. It was reaching out to the pile of plants in the corner…they had just gotten here. They hadn't put the plants up yet…and Mob could help them with that….if they were all staying here. She wanted to see Mukai and….and she was back in Seasoning City…or maybe not…Mob didn't know…
And she hated not knowing.
She was supposed to know everything…not in a know-it-all way…but in a she was in charge of everything sort of way. She was supposed to know where they were and why they were where they were and where they were going and…and she had been doing a terrible job of that judging by what had happened with Sho…but she could do a better job of it now and maybe…maybe that was what she had to do to make this right or…or she didn't know….
She wanted to hug Minegishi again…but she didn't…because they had that look on their aura…and on their face too.
"Mob…we're in Tokyo because….something happened in the Seventh Division and right now nobody can live there-" said Minegishi
"What happened? Did I….did I do something…because it feels like maybe I…did." Said Mob. She felt like…she had done something. The last thing she could remember, after Fukuda told her the terrible truth, was that she screamed and then….she was here. Minegishi would have known what had happened…and they wouldn't lie to her. She knew them and they never told lies. They hated lies.
"You…lost control and gave the building a new skylight." Said Minegishi. A lie by omission was still a lie…but Mob could not handle the truth. She was too young and too…well…Mob. Fragile. She was powerful enough to put a hole in the roof on accident but still too fragile to know the true extent of what she had done.
"Oh…ok. Skylights are cool….I guess…but I didn't mean to break anything. I was just upset about stuff…stuff that happened and…and I don't….I don't know how to feel…." Said Mob
"Feel however the fuck you want to feel about this. Ryou told me what happened…well to you, I have no idea why he's being so weird….and yeah, it's a shock. Well not really since the baby looks exactly like him but…well it's a shock to you…so feel however you want to feel." Said Minegishi
"Can I feel like smoking with Sho and Shimazaki?" asked Mob
"If you have to." Said Minegishi with a sigh. Mob needed this and….yeah. The body count at the Seventh Division was enough of a reminder that Mob needed all the help she could get to control her powers….and what happened when she lost control. Minegishi knew that this was a terrible coping mechanism, emotionally and for Mob's mind…she couldn't add without her fingers, but the alternative was…yeah…so…Minegishi was going to do their best to stop beating themselves up.
"I have to, I mean I need to, I mean I really need to." Said Mob. She used her powers to open the door…a cloud of smoke hit her in the face. That was…a lot of smoke…oh. Some of it was incense….and candles…they were everywhere. This must have been what it was like to be inside of an oven or something. All hot and full of light….and it smelled nice…so nice…and it was nice in there…
Because Sho was there.
"Toshi! This is what light is!" shouted Shimazaki as he passed a pipe to Sho. Finally! He understood what light was! Light was heat and it smelled like the candle store threw up all over him. e reached out to the heat…too close. He could feel Toshi rolling their eyes. They came over and started moving candles away…he didn't need them to do that….he wasn't needy….
And he was not ruminating on that!
"Yes…..that's light…and fire. A hell of a lot of fire." Said Minegishi as they left Mob in the doorway. They had a lot of candles to put out…or at least move away from the windows. It stank in here…way too many smells…and way too much smoke. They weren't going to get into it with Ryou….not now. He'd been weird since they got here…or even before. The past day or so had been a blur.
"Yeah…..fire is awesome. Ryou likes it, anyway." Said Sho. Big sis was there…and she was staring at him. She was staring at him and…and he had no idea if this was good staring or bad staring. He scooted closer to Shima-to Ryou. He was Ryou now. He had always been Ryou but now…well now…Sho could call him Ryou….not that he couldn't always have called him Ryou….
It just felt…ok…now…so that was what he was going to do.
He sat as close to Ryou as he could without it being weird…or maybe it was weird. He was close enough that he could smell Ryou and feel his coat…he touched it...but just the sleeve. Not in a weird way...the leather was just soft…and cool. It was hot in that room, they had been burning candles in the middle of summer after all, but Ryou's coat was cool to the touch and stuff….and he wondered if his coat felt cool…he didn't think that he did…he had been wearing it when he had kissed Ritsu and he had been so warm then that he wasn't really sure if he had ever cooled off and…
….and Ryou passed him the pipe. He hit it…which meant smoking it and not actually hitting it….even though he kind of wanted to hit something…but that was what the smoking was for.
"Sho, don't play with fire." Said Mob said Mob as she sat down on the floor beside her little brother. She wanted to tell him that he was holding the lighter wrong, that he didn't want to have the flame so close to his hand, and also that he was charring the whole bowl. You were supposed to only corner a little piece of the bowl to make it last longer, Minegishi had taught her that, but she wasn't going to tell Sho that…
She didn't know what to tell Sho…so she told him not to play with fire…which he shouldn't have been.
"When did you get so boring?" asked Shimazaki as he scooted away from Sho and took the pipe from him.
"I don't think that I'm boring…I just don't want the room to burn down." Said Mob. Minegishi stepped over her and laid down on their bed. That was about the only thing that was done in this room. Everything else was still in boxes. Even the dresser was empty…maybe she could help everyone get unpacked….or maybe she needed to tell everyone not to unpack. She wanted to be with baby Mukai…but maybe she needed to go with Mukai. Maybe she didn't want to leave her friends…Mob didn't know if Mukai had friends…she didn't know anything….
She reached for the pipe.
"Yeah….fire sucks….and stuff." Said Sho as he took the pipe from Ryou and handed it to big sis. She needed it. She was the one who broke everything. A bunch of people had gotten hurt, Ryou had said, but nobody died…but big sis would still be upset if she knew that she had hurt people. Especially Minegishi…not that it mattered…but they did have a concussion. Fukuda could have fixed it if he had been around…but he wasn't….
He wasn't dead….he just ran away….and Sho should have been happy about that but…he just…he didn't know…he knew that his shirt was really soft but the tag was annoying. There. He knew something.
"It does….um….hi…Sho." said Mob. It was hard talking to her little brother….and she didn't know why. She had been talking to him since she had first learned how to talk. She had seen the recording on mom's ipad of when she had been little and Sho had been a baby. She had been calling him Sho over and over and trying to teach him how to play with her…and he had been too little so he started crying…and she hated it when she cried. She hated it now and she had hated it back then…and Sho wasn't crying now…
But she kind of wished that he was.
She would have known what to do if he had been crying. She would have comforted him. He had every right to be crying right now. She had been mean to him…and Fukuda had been meaner. Fukuda had taught him something terrible and Mob…she could understand why Sho had listened to Fukuda. When someone you loved taught you something then you listened…like how Minegishi had taught her about moderation. That was why she only hit it twice before passing it to them with her powers. They didn't say anything…even thank you…and Mob…she wished that they had said something….
Because right now she had no idea what she was supposed to say.
"Hi…big sis. Did you sleep ok? Dad…wouldn't let anyone near you…not even me. Not that I wanted to be near dad anyway…not with what he did." Said Sho. He had been about to kill dad…and he had meant it. Ryou had tried to kill his dad when he'd been a few years older than Sho…and it was normal to want to kill your dad…so Sho couldn't get upset with himself over that….and dad deserved it…he had cheated on mom! And he had infected Sho with his cheater genes and…and he focused on his socks. How soft his feet felt…no, his socks were soft and his feet weren't. There were scars, there, on his feet…and everywhere else….he was covered in them…and they didn't feel soft at all…
He felt the scar on his arm…it was rough…..
"I slept ok…I think…um…are your scars bothering you? I have a bunch of lotion you can borrow….but that's at home…where dad is…um….Minegishi has some that maybe you can borrow." Said Mob
"If you want to unpack my stuff then you can have at it." Said Minegishi with a shrug. They pulled a book from the box next to their bed. They didn't care what they were reading…oh. Well now they did. This was one of Ryou's books….and their braille was terrible. Still. They didn't feel like reaching over again. They were tired…and they felt a migraine coming on. They debated whether or not it would have been worth it to open the window and let the smoke, and also the air conditioning, out. It was hot enough inside as it was….decisions, decisions, decisions….
Fewer decisions.
They felt the energy around them shifting…and then they felt the bed dipping….and there was Ryou. He pulled them close and put his hand over theirs. They let him. He was back to normal…somewhat. He still felt sort of….pulled away? He just…he had not taken meeting Matsuo well…but that had been to be expected. He could be so clingy and needy sometimes…but they still loved him…clingy and needy as he was.
He was their clingy, needy, but still one hundred percent theirs…and they loved him for that.
"I don't need anything." Said Sho as Ryou teleported over to be with Minegishi…even though they weren't doing anything interesting…just reading. Sho…he didn't want to do anything interesting either but…he just…he didn't want to be alone right now. He didn't want to think about…about…the stuff that he did. When Ryou was near then all Sho could think about was him and not…not Ritsu….
He didn't want to think about Ritsu…and not just because his heart hurt when he did. His sister was right there…and Ritsu looked like her…and thinking about him when she was near was just plain weird.
"Ok…but if you did need something then you could tell me….I mean I'll always be there for you…even if you aren't there-" said Mob
"I get it, ok!? I was gone and it was wrong! Do we have to talk about it? I don't tell you over and over again how you messed up!" said Sho. He was shouting now…and he shouldn't have done that. Something slapped him over the head…a leaf. Minegishi had slapped him over the head…and Ryou was laughing….and big sis…she was grabbing his arm and pulling him back down…
Oh. He had been standing up.
"I wasn't talking about how you were gone….and I forgive you for that. Fukuda made you lie to me…and he made you keep secrets from me…and dad made him make you keep secrets from me…but I forgive you…and Fukuda left…and I told dad to move away-" said Mob
"What!?" screamed Sho. He screamed so loud that his throat hurt…but that was also probably because of all the smoking. He didn't care that Ryou was holding his ears, now, or that Minegishi had slapped him again with a leaf. Sho…he must have been going deaf…or something. The room was way too loud…and he could hear his heart beating in his ears…but that might have been deafening him…or…something…
Because big sis….he knew her…and she would never have said something like that….
"Yeah, I agree. What?" asked Minegishi. He house began to shake…and for a minute they thought that they had set Mob off or something. Their hand found Ryou's. He held them tight. The book fell between their legs. They didn't care.
"Sho just said-" said Shimazaki. That was…so that was what all that aural screaming from next door had been. Mob was finally standing up for herself…good for her. Standing up for herself…and to Suzuki of all people. That was pretty great. It was great to know that Mob wasn't all sugar, there was some spice in there, and he only wished that he'd been there to see it. He liked that in a girl…well in a person in general. She must have been like a shorter version of Toshi.
"Can you guys maybe scream a little bit quieter…and also there are no bake brownies for whoever wants them." Said Shibata as he walked into Minegishi and Shimazaki's room…and the door had been opened so this was ok…or maybe not. Minegishi was glaring at him.
"Leave that over there." said Minegishi as they pointed to a stack of boxes. No eating in their room…and no letting yourself into their room either. This was….what it was to share a house with people…if not for Mob they would have wished that they lived alone.
"Give me that!" said Sho. Food! Ryou had told him, before, that he had to be careful about overeating when he smoked…but he was hungry! If he was hungry then he needed food and if he was hungry for brownies…no bake brownies…then that was what his body needed. Shibata passed him the pan and then a stack of plates with a box of plastic forks on top…and he let those hit the ground. He stuck his hand in the pan and took out a handful of brownie…it was weird…..but this was still good.
"Sho! Share…please?" asked Mob as Sho ate with his hands…he was way too high. Now she had to be mean to him again…was it mean to teach him moderation? She wasn't dad…she wasn't going around hitting people and making babies and then calling them mistakes…so she wasn't being mean at all. She took the pipe away and passed it to Minegishi with her powers. Not to Shimazaki…he would have just given it back to Sho.
"I am sharing….anyone can come and take some if they want." Said Sho. Ryou reached over him and took the pan away. He wasn't mad…that was Ryou and he could do whatever he wanted….and also brownies were great. Even if no bake brownies were kind of weird…he wondered if Ritsu would have liked them. He wondered if Ritsu liked chocolate. He wondered what Ritsu's favorite food was…and his favorite dessert…and his favorite color…and just…he wondered what Ritsu was going right now and…Sho reached for the pipe…and it was gone now…Minegishi had taken it…
Fuck them.
"I'll make more." Said Shibata. It was so good to see Sho eating again. He had spent the whole trip here clinging to Shimazaki…he hadn't eaten anything that Shibata could have seen…and he was so tiny. He was so tiny and he needed a lot of food….and so did Mob. He had made her that sweater for her last birthday and she still hadn't grown into it.
"It was nice of you to make any at all…thank you. This means…a lot to me." Said Mob. She meant that. Her friends…she was so lucky to have friends. They were such good people…not like how dad was…how he had been. Dad was…such a bad person and…and she hadn't even known and….and she just…she took the pipe from Minegishi with her powers. She needed it…and she didn't need moderation…not now.
"Next time put some caramel in these." Said Shimazaki as he dumped the brownies onto a plate and passed it over Sho's head. Mob's aura was all…shuddery….oh. She was smoking again….well good for her.
"Do it yourself." Said Shibata as he took the pan back. This guy…he was going to stay calm. He was going to stay calm because there were kids in the room and he knew that he would have been a bad person if he told Shimazaki exactly what he wanted to say to him right now. Sho cursed enough as it was and Mob…well she had been through a lot.
"Sugar is poison, Ryou." Said Minegishi as they took a brownie and picked at it.
"If it's poison then why are you-" said Sho as he licked his fingers. Minegishi was so weird. They said one thing and then did another…and that was weird. Ryou didn't need to be there with them…he should have been there with Sho. Sho…he felt weird….and he just…he didn't like this. The whole thing was like…like he had lost something…someone. Like if he thought about this for too long then he would cry or scream…so he settled on licking his fingers. Chocolate…this was the best chocolate in the world.
"They don't mean that it's actually poison. They just mean that it's bad for you….and stuff." Said Mob. She eyed the pipe…she knew that she needed to set a good example but….but she had already set a bad example….and also dad was an even worse example for Sho than her…so she took a deep drag when Sho wasn't looking….
She should have shared…and she would…when she was done. She would pass it to one of her friends…like Shibata, he hadn't even gotten a turn yet, or Hatori, who looked like he wanted to come and hang out with them too.
"Well I don't-" said Sho
"Who's Shimazaki poisoning?" asked Hatori as he stood outside of Minegishi's door. There was no way that he was stepping in without being invited. Minegishi….they were not a fan. It was amazing that they had even let Sho in…and maybe they were regretting that since he was covered in chocolate.
"He didn't poison anything. I watched these the whole time." Said Shibata as he held an empty tray. Those had looked good…he could always make more and the kids were happy. That was what mattered.
"Hey, I don't poison things, I make them better…and I didn't even have the chance! We need to celebrate, anyway, so….anyone know how to make edibles?" said Shimazaki. Toshi rolled their eyes, he could feel it. He didn't think that it was such a bad idea. Mob had just stood up to her dad for the first time in her life, and she had told him to fuck off too, and if that wasn't an occasion to make edibles then he didn't know what was.
"My dad says that my cooking is more than edible." Said Mob
"He means he wants to put what you're smoking right now into a batch of brownies…and before anyone asks I don't know how and I don't care to learn how to right now." Said Minegishi
"But…the celebrating? Come on, it's not every day that Mob stands up to Suzuki." Said Shimazaki. Everyone was there….well almost everyone. Serizawa was emerging from his cave. If he didn't freak out and made it in then everyone would be together and what could be a better group activity than making some edibles and then getting high as fuck and listening to his high as fuck mix…number three would have been good…or maybe four…..
"You stood up to dad? For real?" asked Sho. Big sis…that was what all of that had been. Big sis had stood up to dad and now…and now dad didn't have anyone in the family that cared about him. With Fukuda gone then there wasn't anyone in the world who cared about him…well…there was Hatori…but he was Hatori.
"I…had to. He said….he slapped me…and he told me that…he told me a lot of stuff…" said Mob softly. Minegishi was looking at her now. There was a plant on the windowsill next to them. It turned from a spider plant to a Venus flytrap….and angry one.
"He did what?" asked Minegishi. Suzuki was going to get it….they knew that they couldn't win in a head on fight but…but they wanted to at least hurt him…scare him….
"Dad slapped you? What? Seriously? How hard? Did he do that thing where he slaps you so hard that your ears rang? Or did he make your nose bleed? If he did then I'll find him and-" said Sho. He needed to know what happened so he could do ten times worse to dad. He had hit big sis before…and that had been wrong then…and it was even worse now. He never pretended to love Sho…but he lied to big sis…and lying…well why not add lying to his list of terrible stuff that he had done?
"Calm down. You're too little to do anything…um…how about I make us some strawberry milk? Yeah…that would be…good." Said Shibata. Mob…no wonder she was so quiet…and she just…she didn't need any fighting right now. She had just woken up and…and she just….strawberry milk and maybe Frozen too…the stuff that she loved….
She had her little brother, and once Serizawa got here she would have all of her friends with her, and that was what she needed right now. Not violence…she hated violence….
"Hi…everyone…and Miss Suzuki….hi…" said Serizawa as he hid behind the doorway and Hatori…he was way too big. He was way too big and…and he wanted to hide…but also he wanted to be there. Miss Suzuki was awake and she was there and…and he felt like everything was going to be ok…even if it felt like there had been a fight happening next door.
"Hi Serizawa, do you want to come and hang out with us? We're smoking and Shibata is going to make brownies and strawberry milk…and it'll be nice." Said Mob. She calmed down as best as she could. Serizawa was here and he was very fragile and sensitive. He was even more fragile than Hatori…and Hatori used to be the most fragile person in the house. He ran and hid all the time…but not lately. Maybe because Serizawa had broken his record and set one so long that there was no point in trying to beat him.
"Um…I would like to hang out…too and have some milk and brownies…but not if there isn't enough for me or-" said Serizawa as he sat down on the rug next to Miss Suzuki. He felt sort of cramped there. There was a box to his back and Miss Suzuki on the other side of him. He hoped that he wasn't crowding her…there wasn't enough room for her to scoot away since her brother was on the other side of her…he tried to scoot away…
She grabbed his wrist.
"You don't have to move. You're fine." Said Mob. She let her aura touch his…and she held onto him too. He was there and….and he needed her. This was a lot of people at once and even now he wasn't one hundred percent ok being near people. He needed her…and she was his friend…so she needed him too…but not as much as he needed her…
She didn't let go of him.
"But I'm crowding you and-" said Serizawa. He wanted to be…alone. He wanted to be back in his room….and he wanted to be near her…and he just…this was a lot. This was a lot of people and…and he was used to everyone…but they had been going and going and…and she made him feel safe even though there wasn't anything to be kept safe from…he knew that he was safe…but he also knew that he could trust her. He just…he wished he had his umbrella. He could hold that as tight as he could and it wouldn't be bothered or anything like that.
"I don't mind. I like being with my friends." Said Mob. She liked being near all of them. Being with her friends was like being all…squished up in a love…pita? Taco? Stuffed crust pizza? She didn't know what food they were…but they were a food…and she liked this. Everyone here loved her…and everyone here was a good person…for real. Not like dad and how…how he had done such terrible things…her own dad. She leaned onto Serizawa. He was freaking out…and he needed her…and maybe she had been freaking out a little too. She liked leaning on him…he was all warm and tall and…and she got the feeling that he would keep her safe…even though she had no idea what it was that she would have needed to have been kept safe from….
Maybe because she couldn't trust dad, anymore, to keep her safe…even though he had promised her…but what could a promise from him mean now?
"Ok….um-" said Serizawa. He still thought that he was crowding her…but she said that it was ok…but what if she decided that he was too close and she wanted him to go away forever and…and then…he had to calm down but it was hard and-
"Serizawa, do you vote yes or no on getting incredibly high in celebration of Mob telling her dad off?" asked Shimazaki partially to distract him from the oncoming explosion and partially because he really needed this spur of the moment party to happen.
"What happened with the President?" asked Serizawa. He hoped that the president was ok….and he hoped that Miss Suzuki was ok….and she hoped that Sho was ok too. She hoped that everyone was ok and…and he didn't know what was happening…but she must have been upset. He held Miss Suzuki's hand. She must have needed that. He had no idea what the fight had been about, maybe the same thing as what all of that travelling had been about, but he didn't want to ask…it might not have been his place to ask…it might not have been ok…
He held her hand. He knew that this was ok.
"He's an asshole! He cheated on my mom and he gave me his cheater genes and he took our baby sister away and-" said Sho. He knew that he should have been pissed off at that guy for holding his sister's hand, that was what brothers were supposed to do, but he knew that Serizawa was nice and stuff…and also he was already pissed enough at dad…and himself….and Fukuda…and he just…he didn't have enough space inside of himself to be mad at anyone else.
"Sho…it's ok. I told dad that baby Mukai is coming to live with us or he could move away…and I don't know what he's going to do…but baby Mukai is going to come and live with us." Said Mob. Sho stared at her and then smiled…he smiled a lot. It started off small before growing so big that his entire face was one big smile. Then he hugged her. He wrapped his arms around her and then his aura too.
She did the same to him.
"Wow….I didn't know that you had a baby sister…congratulations! Is your moth-" said Serizawa. There was a heavy hand on his shoulder. Shibata shook his head 'no'. Serizawa didn't get it…this sounded like really good news…but he wasn't going to say anything if he wasn't supposed to.
"For the love of God…." Muttered Minegishi. This was a mess. This was going to be the biggest mess that they had ever been in. They knew for a fact that they had talked to Mob about this, bringing people into the group without asking, but….this was Mob's sister…and Suzuki needed to get off his ass and do some parenting….who were they kidding? This was Suzuki. Mob had just added about a million new jobs to her list of things to do…and now the woman who adopted the little vomit machine was going to be joining them…and these houses were already too small…
God damn it Mob….
"See? Mob put her dad in his place and now she's getting her little sister back. If this isn't an occasion to celebrate then I don't know what is." Said Shimazaki
"Wait…what? What's happening?" asked Hatori. He pulled his phone out and flipped through his contacts until he got to Suzuki. This would have explained that light show from earlier and…and Suzuki needed him. He could feel it and…well Fukuda was gone so he was the new Fukuda…this was something that he had deal with….
Hey, this is what friends were for.
"My dad…he said…some mean stuff. He said that my baby sister was…I don't want to talk about this. I want to eat brownies and smoke. Can we do that?" asked Mob as she drew her knees up to her chest. She didn't want to tell her friends how she had not only talked about….sex….with her dad but also…they had talked about him having it…with someone who wasn't mom! And also dad had dressed her in her pajamas and…and she really did not want to talk about this. Not with her friends and her brother…not with anyone. She held Serizawa's hand tight.
She just wanted to be high and have strawberry milk with her friends…was that too much to ask?
"Sure. Shibata, you heard Mob, make with the brownies…but we're not making edibles because I may not know exactly how it's done but I know that it's complicated. Shibata, make food. Ryou, go into your drawer and-" said Minegishi. They were going to end up getting dragged straight to hell for this…alright then. Whatever happened would happen.
"Fuck….Mob? Did you kick your dad out of the house?" asked Hatori as he got through a very long and grammatically correct paragraph. That was how he texted, always long and grammatically correct….and always the truth….he didn't know how to lie…and he never exaggerated…and this seemed like…a lie and…he knew that it must have been true…
Hatori…kind of wanted to go to his room…or the bathroom with the door locked…but Suzuki needed him right now it seemed like….
"I…told him that baby sis was coming to live with us…and if he had a problem with it then he could move out….and I know that it was mean but-" said Mob
"Fuck yeah! You're my favorite sister…older sister…and I love you so fucking much! Shibata, make a big fancy cake! And…um….other stuff! Yeah! And then we'll smoke and watch Frozen and all of that other stuff you like! How about that, big sis?!" asked Sho as he hugged his sister again, this time even tighter than he had before. He hugged her as tightly as he could…maybe as tight as Shibata had hugged that kid that he got fired from Wee World….or maybe even tighter!
Big sis deserved it…she deserved all the hugs in the world.
"That….that sounds good…" said Mob as she was hugged again. She knew that she had been mean…but also dad had deserved it….but also she loved him…but she was getting her sister back…her sister who only existed because her dad cheated…and…and she loved Mukai but now mom was never coming back…and she didn't even know if she wanted her mom to come back and…and this was a lot….
She just wanted to smoke and have fun with her friends…so that was what she was going to do…and she was going to figure out how she was supposed to feel tomorrow. Yes, everything would make more sense tomorrow.