Sagami Tsuchiya did not want this promotion….if this could even be called a promotion.
She was being rushed from the Seventh Division to the highest echelon of Claw…and all because she was raising President Suzuki's daughter. She hadn't HAD his daughter. She was just raising Mukai, that was all, and certain filthy minded members of the Seventh Division needed to learn to keep their thoughts to themselves. She was raising Mukai and she didn't expect any special treatment for it. She was Sagami Tsuchiya, she trained the Awakened, and she was raising a two year old girl. That was her life. She had never once asked to join the highest echelons of Claw…but here she was.
And here was Mukai, too.
"Go home Go home now!" said Mukai as she banged on the glass. They were travelling by car, now, from Seasoning City. They had evacuated to some Claw houses that were in the neighboring city before the massage came, from almost that very top, that they were going to be moving to Tokyo. She had barely gotten Mukai used to the idea of living away from the only home she'd ever known, and to a place with windows too, and now she was going to have to uproot her daughter again….
There was no point in getting upset. Not when there was nothing that she could do about it.
She took a deep breath and centered herself. She was here, in a car with Mukai, and she was fine. They were off on another path that life had put in front of them and while they couldn't get off the path they could at least see where it took them. She felt her qi settling…good. Now there was the matter of Mukai. Her qi was not steady in the least bit. Her…well the word they liked to use for it in Claw was aura….well her aura was not calm at all…or stable. She was a mess of red right now….an agitated mess of red….maybe she would be better once they got where they were going….
Or maybe she would get a hell of a lot worse. Yes, most likely the latter and not the former.
"Mukai…we can't go home for a while. Remember, it broke? We have to go to a new place now." Said Tsuchiya
"Fix it, mama, fix it!" said Mukai
"Mukai….I would if I could. They have other people coming, new people. It'll be fixed really soon…they even have an esper who can use his powers to fix anything…but right now we have to live at a new place for a while. We're going to see Sho, remember? Your big brother?" asked Tsuchiya
"Big brother! Sho! Now! Go Sho now!" said Mukai. She slammed her little hand against the window again. Tsuchiya pulled it away and handed Mukai her phone. This much screen time was not good for her…but neither were these long car trips and being uprooted…not to mention what was waiting for her when they got to their destination.
President Suzuki wanted his daughter back.
Well Vice President Suzuki wanted her sister back. That was who had summoned them. Vice President Suzuki…second in command of Claw and the President's oldest daughter….who looked nothing like them. Tsuchiya had never seen her in person before but she had seen recordings…and she didn't look a thing like her father. There was that terrible rumor that had been going around, that President Suzuki only passed her off as his daughter because of the age gap but really she was his lover and Mukai's biological mother, but that was just a disgusting rumor thought up by someone Tsuchiya was glad to be away from. There…at least some good was coming of this.
Not a lot of it, though.
She should have known that it was too good to be true. Things hadn't exactly been sunshine and soda pop at the Seventh Division, Ishiguro had gotten even bitchier than usual when Tsuchiya adopted Mukai, and there was always the insanity that came with having so many socially unbalanced people in one place together, but at least Tsuchiya had been used to it…and Mukai had been happy. She had been happy there and…well maybe this was better in some ways. She at least had more sunlight now…and she got to spend time with her brother…and she knew that Sho loved her. He wasn't much of a caretaker, he had been warned a thousand times about giving her candy, but he loved Mukai….and so did her sister….
Maybe this would be ok…but if not it wasn't like this was something that she could just say no to.
"Look! Sho! Over there!" said Mukai. She threw the phone to the ground and began to point out the window. It hadn't been a long ride at all…not long enough for her to gather her thoughts and strengthen her mental reserves. No President Suzuki. The two Suzuki children were standing on the edge of the road holding a sign. 'Welcome Back, Baby Mukai' written in glitter. President Suzuki was elsewhere, Vice President Suzuki had said as much in her message. That was a good thing….for Mukai…even though Tsuchiya…well she had opinions….
If you made a child and you could care for a child then you had to raise that child….
It was one thing if someone didn't have the means or ability to care for a child…but to just…have one and throw her away…it was amazing that the President could have been so callous. She didn't want the President to have anything to do with Mukai…and she didn't want Mukai to have anything to do with him. Tsuchiya wasn't even sure if Mukai knew what a 'dad' was. The word had never come up before. Big brother was a new one…she was learning new words all the time…and big sister looked like it was about to be added too….but dad…she didn't need to know that word. The President was no 'dad' to her…she had walked right up to him and he hadn't even acknowledged her….and Tsuchiya…she didn't want Mukai to get hurt…but she didn't want Mukai to have to deal with that kind of rejection…..
At least her brother and sister weren't going to reject her.
She knew Sho, he was an enthusiastic as ever, but she had no idea what to even make of Vice President Suzuki. She was covered in glitter….they both were…but while her brother was waving and cheering she was just…staring. Not angrily…not like anything. She was just staring….there. That was how she and Suzuki were related. The eyes. Not the color, no, hers were a common shade of brown, but the way she…looked…at things. The atmosphere around her…she was definitely President Suzuki's kid….she was in some way more President Suzuki's kid than either Sho or Mukai…
Tsuchiya had no idea what to make of her…or this.
She unclipped Mukai from her seat and opened the door before the kids could fall over each other for the honor. Mukai squirmed as Tsuchiya held onto her. She wanted to go and play with Sho. She knew Sho and she was always happy to see him. The other person, her older sister, was another story. Mukai didn't even seem to care that she was there…..that made sense. She was used to strangers. She had to be, they made and trained Awakened at the Seventh Division. That girl was just another stranger to her…and she didn't have the instinct to be weary of them….
Mukai didn't even know what it meant to be weary of someone…she was fearless…like now.
"Sho!" said Mukai as she launched herself onto the grass. She was getting bigger…and stronger. She had put some of her qi into that. Tsuchiya didn't know if she should encourage or discourage that. Tsuchiya's qi had always been strong but mom and dad had made sure to train her…when she was old enough to learn. There had been other masters there, too, and students. Sort of like Claw but everyone was…sane…and balanced…and…well there was no point into thinking about it, the way things had been, since those times were over now. This was a new path that life had laid out in front of her…and she had to walk down it…she had no choice.
And neither did Mukai.
"Look Mukai it's your brother and sister." Said Tsuchiya as she stepped out of the car with Mukai. She didn't know if Mukai knew the word sister. She might have just thought that sister was another word for her name. She had come from this family…did she even remember that girl? The girl seemed to remember her…she was at least waving a little bit.
"Hi…" said Vice President Suzuki softly. She held up the signs with one hand and the other gave a weak wave. Tsuchiya didn't know if that was nerves or boredom or just…apathy? She had always gotten a sense of it from the rare times she'd seen the President, that he was an apathetic person, but also somehow he managed to run Claw….that whole family was an enigma.
"Vice President Suzuki. Sho-chan." said Tsuchiya. When in doubt be polite. Sho….at this point it was alright to use familiar forms of address with him…but not with his sister. She, technically, outranked Tsuchiya and just about everyone else…so it was best to be polite to her…not that she was ever impolite. High strung….that was a word that was thrown around to describe her father…and she didn't want to know if daughter took after father….
If the oldest daughter took after her father.
"I'm not chan." Grumbled Sho. His sister shook her head.
"Sho, be nice. You're a kid and to adults you're chan…like Mukai is chan…but I won't call her that since she's my sister and…stuff…um…." Said Vice President Suzuki. She spoke quietly…..and somewhat….monotonously? There wasn't a lot of variation in her voice. Tsuchiya had no idea if she was stressed or tired or bored or just…apathetic…maybe? It was hard to get a read on her….but luckily her brother seemed to understand.
"Well call her something! She's right here, come on, you've got to say hi." Said Sho as Mukai began to kick him in the stomach. He was holding her wrong. She was not a sack of rice. Instead of putting her down he doubled down on holding her like she was a Costco sized bag of rice.
"Hi…baby sister….Mukai. Um…you look…ok. You're bigger now…and you can talk…that's really good. Um….good for you….I think." Said Vice President Suzuki. She played with the sign she held in her hands while she said that…was she nervous? Why was she nervous if she was the one who had sent for them in the first place? Maybe because she was just a kid…she didn't look like a kid…well she sort of did…but it was hard to remember that she was a kid. It was in the way that she carried herself…that was what threw Tsuchiya off.
This was a twelve year old?
She was as tall as a twelve year old should have been….but also she just…didn't carry herself like one. There was just something adult like in her posture…and her tone…she had never seen a kid carry themselves like that. Well she wasn't exactly a normal kid. There was a rumor going around that she was a dwarf and President Suzuki passed her off as his daughter….but Tsuchiya didn't think that she was dwarf…the girl was obviously twelve….
A weird twelve year old…but a twelve year old none the less.
"Hello! Hello now!" shouted Mukai. She threw herself towards her older sister…and out of Sho's arm. Tsuchiya reached over to catch her…but she was too slow. Vice President Suzuki and her brother were quicker…and they were both telekinetic. She gasped as they both caught a squirming Mukai before she even hit the ground. Holding something as heavy as Mukai up with telekinesis….and for this long…that was….amazing….
Well of course they were powerful espers….they were President Suzuki's kids after all…
"Mukai! You're ok….you're ok! Not that you wouldn't be, I was just worried about….whatever! You're ok!" said Sho as he picked Mukai up. Tsuchiya let him, he was holding her wrong but he wasn't going to drop her. She was pulling his hair now…but he didn't seem to mind. The kid oozed happiness, from his face to his qi, and he stood in stark contrast to his sister. She was still holding the sign…and she was still staring. She was staring at Mukai not in shock…not in anything. It was…disconcerting.
"I'm ok! I'm ok!" said Mukai as she pulled at her big brother's hair. Her hair. They had that same texture…and color…and his hair grew just as wild as hers. She pressed her forehead to his…same freckles there….and of course they had the same eyes….they were like a matching set of dolls, Mukai and her big brother…
Her sister looked like she came from another set entirely.
"I ride car!" said Mukai as she pointed to the car. She had never been in a car…had she? One that she could remember…Tsuchiya should have taken a picture. It was easy, in the Seventh Division, to forget how fast time was passing. The lack of windows and the…sameness…of each day didn't help matters. Mukai had grown so quickly that Tsuchiya had forgotten how many things that she had missed out on….normal things. She wasn't a normal child, that much was obvious, but she had missed out on so much…so maybe it was for the best that…whatever this was…was happening….
Even if it wasn't for the best…well Tsuchiya couldn't exactly defect now could she?
"Did you have fun?" asked Sho
"No!" said Mukai. Tsuchiya smiled and brushed some of her hair back. She was smiling now…that was good. It was always good to see Mukai smiling. She was smiling, her brother was smiling, and her sister…didn't even seem like she cared….but she must have cared, she was the one who set this up, and…well maybe that was just how her resting face was…like her father's….
Tsuchiya hoped that she wasn't going to have to make a side by side comparison soon.
She felt around with her qi. The President was unmistakable…and could be felt from kilometers away if she tried hard enough….but he was gone. Not around…anyway. That was…she didn't want to deal with him. She had fought him, once, and he was a formidable opponent….but aside from that she knew nothing about him. She didn't care to know him. Matsuo said that, according to his partner Toshiki anyway, that President Suzuki was apparently a big dork….and she couldn't see that…but then again she didn't know the man personally…and she didn't want to...and fate could be kind sometimes. At least he wasn't there now….there were plenty of other espers…one was coming out of the house right now….but President Suzuki was gone….
The universe could be kind sometimes, it seemed, but in the same breath it could be cruel….but that was just the way of the universe.
"Do you want to have fun now?" asked Sho
"Yes! Fun! Now!" said Mukai
"Then let's have fun." Said Sho as he picked Mukai up with his powers and put her on his back like a baby monkey. That was…worrying. There was a shift in the qi around them. Vice President Suzuki seemed to have similar feelings. She was steadying Mukai with her powers….and Mukai's qi was reaching out to hers…
Oh. So she could smile.
"Do you like…dolls? I have a lot of dolls…and you can have them….um…they're in your room…well your room is my room-" said Vice President Suzuki
"OUR room." Said Sho. He put one hand on his hip and the other one held Mukai in place…like she was a sack of rice. Tsuchiya reached over to take Mukai before she got dropped again…but Sho pulled her away.
"Right…our room. Um…we have bunk beds now and you have a bed and um…it's in our room…but if you don't want to share then you can have your own room…since you've been an only child for so long and stuff…" said Vice President Suzuki. She was closer to Mukai now…close enough to Mukai to reach out for her braids. Tsuchiya knew that she should have warned the girl that Mukai loved to pull hair…but she had other things to discuss now.
"I'll be happy to share a room with Mukai, Vice President Suzuki-" said Tsuchiya. Polite. It was best to be polite. She used her more formal tone and her most formal way of address…and judging by the shift in Vice President Suzuki's qi she had said the wrong thing. Her best friend…Toshiki…no…Minegishi. Yes, that was that person's name. Minegishi came up to her and rested a hand on her shoulder. She looked up…something passed between the two of them.
"You don't have to call me that. You can call me Shigeko…or Suzuki…or Suzuki Shigeko." said Vice President Suzuki
"Mob-" said Minegishi. There was something there in their tone…they were exhausted. It wasn't even noon yet and they looked like they were dead to the world. Tsuchiya had no idea if that was just the way they were or if this was going to be her fate…she already felt tired. She hadn't said ten words to these kids and she already felt tired….
"Um…that too….I guess. Um…Sho, bring Mukai inside. We can show her where her room is…and if she doesn't like it then we can move her into dad's old room. You'll be in Hatori's room miss…um….Mukai's mom….he doesn't need it anymore since he went with dad to…wherever dad is and…um…." Said Vice President Suzuki. She had dropped the sign, now, and she was playing with her hands. Sho put Mukai down…and now she was scraping glitter of the sign and rubbing it into her hair….joy. At least someone was happy. Something passed, qi wise, between Sho and his sister. She let go of her hands and went back to her usual adult like posture.
"I'll show her the house. You and your brother go and show your sister around." Said Minegishi. They patted Mob on the back….and something else passed between them qi wise. There was a time to act and a time not to act…and this was the time not to act. This was sort of like sparing with a new opponent, you had to learn as much as you could about them. She wasn't one hundred percent about seeing Mukai go off with those kids…her brother and sister…but they were her brother and sister…so they could be trusted with her…
Tsuchiya had no choice but to trust Mukai with the kids.
Really those kids…they were good kids. Compared to the other adults here. There, in front of her motioning for her to follow them, was Minegishi Toshiki. Tsuchiya may have blanked on their name for a minute but she knew…well she had taken the time to do some basic research…and she did speak to Matsuo too. This person…had killed a lot of people. This person in the floral t-shirt and purple pajama pants had killed over fifty people in their time in Claw…and Tsuchya's hands weren't exactly the cleanest…but she wasn't a…hitman? Was that the word? Or was it hit-person? She didn't know…and now did not seem to be the time to ask….
She turned and watched Mukai.
Her brother was still holding her like a sack of rice. Her sister was undoing the buckles on her sandals. Mukai was kicking and trying to pull on her sister's braids…she didn't seem to mind…at least it didn't seem like she minded. She was….an enigma…a lot like her father. A dork…that was what Matsuo had said that his….girlfriend? Boyfriend? Partner? That seemed like the right word. His partner had said that President Suzuki was a massive dork…and Tsuchiya couldn't see it…but then again she had never spent much time with the man…and she didn't want to…
But it looked like she would.
"Your kid is going to be fine. Mob and Sho love her….and they took care of her back when she was a baby…if she isn't one anymore. I don't know, I don't know anything about babies. I didn't know back then and I don't know now." Said Minegishi as they opened the door. Tsuchiya wrinkled her nose…it smelled like university in there. That was…she knew that smell…and she had nothing against what adults did…but she did have something against them doing that around her baby.
"Do you guys smoke around the kids?" asked Tsuchiya. If it came down to it she could win in a fist fight with this person. That…was a comfort, actually. She could take Minegishi in a fist fight…but they could take her in a powers fight…and there were plants everywhere. The genkan…the living room…there were plants as far as the eye could see. Mostly ferns, spider plants, but there were a few miniature trees too…including what looked like a miniature strawberry tree…even though she knew that did not grow on trees….well obviously now they did and…
And in a fistfight she could take Minegishi Toshiki…but this would not be fistfight.
"Around the kids, with the kids…and don't look like that. Mob leads a very stressful life and her brother is…well you've met him." said Minegishi as they opened the door. Tsuchiya….wondered if that had been sarcasm. That must have been...right? No sane adult would let a kid smoke…and certainly not what this house was permeated with the smell of!
"I don't think that kids should be-" said Tsuchiya
"Shoes." Said Minegishi as they stepped into the genkan and kicked off their gym shoes. Purple…someone had written 'Shimazaki + Minegishi 4ever' on the side…that looked like a kid's handwriting…it was written in blue and that clashed with the black flowers that had been doodled on the side…maybe Sho's doing? He liked to draw…how good of friends were the kids with these adults? And what did they expect of Mukai? And…and what was expected of her, now? She was going to take this path as she took every path life set her on but….but she at least would have liked to have some idea of what this path would be like….
"Shoes." Said Minegishi a little more forcefully. Tsuchiya looked down…right. She slid out of her shoes and faced them the right way. She put them down next to a pair of crocs that faced backwards and a pair of massive men's gym shoes that faced the right way. There was a pair of black men's loafers there too…she reached down to face them the right way…
And her wrist was grabbed.
She snatched her hand away and felt her qi pooling in her arms. So that was how they wanted to play it. You did not touch someone like that unless you wanted to fight them. Tsuchiya looked Minegishi in the eyes…and they just raised a space where an eyebrow should have been. There was some silence there broken only by the sound of a mixer going in the kitchen. Minegishi was the one to break their staring contest first, with a yawn, a long one.
A yawn and a shrug…and then it was over before it even started.
"Rule number one for living in this house; do not move Ryou's things. Unless you want to help him find them then you do not touch his things." Said Minegishi. They pointed down to the men's shoes on the ground and shook their head for good measure.
"They were facing the wrong way." said Tsuchiya. She sounded ridiculous, she knew that she sounded ridiculous, and she had no idea how to say that without sounding ridiculous. Minegishi looked at her like she had two heads.
"I just like to make sure that the shoes in the genkan are always facing the right way…for my daughter. I want to get her into the habit." Said Tsuchiya. She sounded even more ridiculous now…she had no idea how to put it into non ridiculous words. That every moment was a teaching moment. Minegishi didn't have kids, they wouldn't understand, she barely understood sometimes.
"Well get her into the habit at Mob's house. Don't touch Ryou's things. He can get around but he has his limitations-" said Minegishi. They were cut off by the sudden appearance of a man next to her. A man who…Tsuchiya knew…who she had worked with. Once. Once was too many times. That was….he may have been wearing nothing but a pair of gym shorts….but she knew who that was….
Shimazaki Ryou was standing right in front of her.
She had worked with him once….and once was too many times. There had been some group trying to move into Seasoning City, it no longer existed, and Shimazaki Ryou was the reason that the group no longer existed. He had decimated…no, that meant remove on tenth, he had annihilated them. He could teleport…he could drop a man from a hundred meters up…he was one of those telekinetic espers who could fly if he needed to….and he was strong as fuck too….not as strong as her but…he was strong…and he was completely blind but that didn't stop him from being….himself….
If it came down to a fight between the two of them….well she knew not to let it get to that point.
"I do not have limitations, Toshi, I'm not needy." Said Shimazaki. There was a whine to his voice there…and something to his posture too. He wasn't posturing…he did a lot of that….but apparently only when he was working. Right now he seemed…calm…whiny but calm…and also half naked…and she never would have guessed that he would have been covered in that many tattoos…or any….not that she was regretting turning him down when he propositioned her.
"You're completely blind…and come off this 'needy' thing already. It's driving me crazy and I have enough to deal with today." Said Minegishi. They faced him when they spoke to him….which was weird because he was completely blind…but he could tell when he was being faced it seemed. She knew that he could sense his enemy's movements and act before they even knew what was happening….he was a formidable opponent…
And now it looked like he was her new roommate….better than being his new enemy.
"Oh, right, the new Hatori….haven't we met? I feel like we've met…I know I've heard you aura before…" said Shimazaki
"We've me. Sagami Tsuchiya." Said Tsuchiya with a bow. He didn't bow back.
"Shimazaki Ryou…but you already knew that probably….hey! Can I ask you something? What's Suzuki like in bed? Because I always imagined him as being either really selfish or really submissive…or like a selfish submissive, which is a thing by the way." said Shimazaki. Tsuchiya…she almost hit him. She could feel her qi building up…and she tried to keep a level head…but he had just said something so…so…she had heard it before….that little 'wink, wink' question….that question that nobody should have asked! She got to where she was today on her own merit…not on her back!
"I-I have never in my life-" said Tsuchiya…maybe a little too loudly. Someone upstairs ran and slammed a door…and the mixer in the kitchen finally stopped. Minegishi gave her that same look…no. This one was directed at Shimazaki…at their….boyfriend? She wasn't sure how their relationship worked…but if they could get Shimazaki to shut up then she wasn't going to question it.
"Ryou…shut up." Said Minegishi with a shake of their head…or maybe that was just the house shaking. There here footsteps heavy enough to make the house shake and the windows rattle….Shibata Hiroshi. She knew him by reputation….he was one of Suzuki's bodyguards…and also one of the Vice President's very close friends…
And also he was almost three meters tall.
He took up the entire kitchen doorway…in fact he had to hunch down to get through. She had never seen a man that big in her entire life…she didn't stare. In face she made an effort not to stare. People had always stared at her, not a lot of two meter tall women walking around, and she knew what it was like to have people stare at you for something that you couldn't help…and she didn't laugh, either, even though there was something funny to seeing a man that big in a pink apron that said 'Tokyo!' on it with not Hello Kitty but some other Sanrio character….
She didn't know where to look, so she looked away.
"Shimazaki! She's barely been here and you're already starting with her…no wonder Hatori left…I'm very sorry about him ma'am. It's best to just ignore him." said Shibata
"What? If I ignore him then he'll get bored and wander away?" asked Tsuchiya
"No, he'll just forget that he exists. He has some kind of…disorder….I think." Said Shibata
"Hey! I'll have you know that I'm a perfectly normal human being and-" said Shimazaki
"Ryou, we all know that you haven't lost your mind…you never had it to begin with. Now both of you, shut up and let me finish this tour so I can get some more sleep before Mob wants to hang out." Said Minegishi
"But Toshi-" said Shimazaki
"Ryou, I'm tired." Said Minegishi
"I'll get you something from Starbucks…see? I can do stuff for you too." Said Shimazaki before he teleported away. Minegishi rolled their eyes and motioned for her to follow them. They squeezed past Shibata and made their way into the kitchen. Tsuchiya stood in front of him and bowed.
"Make I come into your kitchen?" asked Tsuchiya with manners that she hadn't touched since she'd been a kid. Mom and dad had been all about manners…well you had to be respectful when you lived in a temple…and you had to be respectful when you were meeting new people. Aside from the pink apron, though really a man that big could wear a full on dress if he felt like it since nobody was stupid enough to try and stop him, he seemed pretty normal…well normal for Claw anyway.
"Of course, ma'am." Said Shibata. He bowed back and stepped out of the doorway. She felt his qi…his aura…as she passed him. He felt….well there was a certain warmness to him, like sitting in front of an oven….or maybe that was just because walking into this kitchen was like walking into an oven. Maybe because the oven was going full blast…the entire kitchen was going full blast. The oven…how had they found a house with an actual oven in Tokyo? Well it was going full blast…as was the stove top…and the microwave…and the toaster oven…and she had no idea how they hadn't blown a fuse yet…or even what was with all of this food. There were plates and bowls everywhere. The kitchen was full of food that was in the various stages of being done…including….
"Is that homemade pimento loaf?" asked Tsuchiya. That was…how had he made it himself? It wasn't from a store…it wasn't perfect enough…that glossy perfect quality that food from a store had. That was…wow. He'd made it himself.
"Sho mentioned that you and Mukai liked that. I'm making everyone's favorites today, you know, since it's a special occasion." Said Shibata
"We're welcoming you to the asylum with food…and…is this homemade Pepsi? Why do you keep on trying to make your own Pepsi? It never turns out well." Said Minegishi
"It's not Pepsi, it's grape soda…and what's wrong with my homemade soda?" asked Shibata
"Everything. Don't poison her just yet, Mob wants her to stick around for a while." Said Minegishi
"I'm not going to poison her…and if you keep talking like that I won't make you that chocolate thing you like." Said Shibata
"Sugar is poison…and you will do no such thing. Now get back to it before Mob decides that we're having lunch." Said Minegishi. Mob…she was talking about Vice President Suzuki….Shigeko. She preferred Shigeko…well Shigeko or Suzuki….and Shigeko was better since she already addressed Sho like that. She was twelve but she was clearly the one in charge…and Minegishi was her…second? If Shigeko was already second to her father then Minegishi was…third? She had no idea what the power structure of this group was…and she needed to figure it out quick…and how she fit into it.
She wasn't at the Seventh Division anymore.
Scars were Scars in the Seventh Division. They all ranked under Ishiguro and she ranked directly under the Suzuki family. Tsuchiya…she didn't much care about rank. She wasn't here to rise through the ranks of this cult. She was here to do what she could to help esper kind. President Suzuki was unbalanced, and cruel, but he did a lot for esper kind. He brought them all together and brought some order to the constantly warring groups…he brought his order. He would have been the shogun and she would have been the…samurai? She didn't know. She just knew that he may have been unbalanced and cruel but he did god things for esper kind….
He did wrong by his children but he did right by esper kind.
"You always say that but you won't let me use aspartame." Said Shibata
"That's an even bigger poison." Said Minegishi
"Honey then." Said Shibata
"Just make lunch. I don't have time to debate artificial sweeteners with you….and if you must know I like agave but I don't feel like making any right now. I have enough to do." Said Minegishi. They turned from Shibata and tapped the black label on the cabinet beside them. Dots…braille. Right….Shimazaki Ryou was blind…hence the shoe thing. That was…good…not that she would wish blindness on anyone. No, what you do comes back to you. She just…liked…the fact that he at least had some kind of a weakness…
Not that she was going to be hiding his shoes anytime soon…she wasn't one of the Awakened after all.
"Do you see this label?" asked Minegishi as they tapped the cabinet with their chipped nails. Their nails chipped even further, a fleck of purple fell into a bowl of….something pink, but they didn't seem to notice or care. Tsuchiya made a mental note not to feed Mukai anything pink today.
"Yeah, it's in braille. I'm guessing that's for your boyfriend." Said Tsuchiya. There was a tone, there, when she said boyfriend….but to be fair that whole thing wasn't fair to Matsuo. He said that he was ok with Minegishi's situation but she knew that he wasn't…she wondered how he was doing….she wondered how all of them were doing...
"Congratulations, you win. Yes, it's in braille and yes that's because of Ryou. Now take something out of this cabinet." Said Minegishi as they opened the cabinet with one hand. Tsuchiya…had no idea what they were getting at. Inside was just a bunch of boxes of cookies and other snacks. She reached past Minegishi…she could feel their qi not only in them but in the plant sitting on top of the cabinet, and took out a box of stuffed chocolate cookies.
"Now what?" asked Tsuchiya as she felt the braille label on the box. Mukai would have gotten a kick out of this…and not just because she loved cookies. Maybe she should teach Mukai braille…it might come in handy…and she did like to
"Now put it back." Said Minegishi. Tsuchiya decided to play along. She put it back…and then her wrist was grabbed. She pulled away from Minegishi but held her temper. What…were they testing her? Trying to see where her limits were? Well she wasn't going to find them. She had survived everything that both Mukai and the Seventh Division could throw at her. She could survive Minegishi Toshiki.
"What?" asked Tsuchiya
"You put it back backwards. You see how all the labels are facing outwards? Always put them back the way you found them unless you want Ryou to wake you up at three in the morning asking you where things are." Said Minegishi
"Good to know." Said Tsuchiya. She put it back the right way. So it hadn't been a power thing…Minegishi had just been looking out for their boyfriend. Not that Tsuchiya was going to let this melt her heart. This was still Minegishi Toshiki and Shimazaki Ryou. As sweet as it was that Minegishi looked out for their poor, blind boyfriend…it wasn't enough to make Tsuchiya forget who these people were.
"The same goes for the fridge, the laundry room, and the bathroom. Put everything back the way you found it when you're in common rooms. When you're in your own room I don't care….but if you don't want Ryou to go through something then just leave it out. He takes locks as personal challenges and so does Sho." said Minegishi
"He's not afraid to teleport into your room and go through your stuff…and he steals, too, so watch out for that." Said Shibata
"Right. About the rooming situation-" said Tsuchiya
"Follow me." Said Minegishi. They turned and started walking. Tsuchiya wondered who she was supposed to bring up the rooming situation with. Shigeko…she had decided that Mukai would be living next door…which made sense because she was Mukai's sister….but Tsuchiya was her mother. She may not have given birth to Mukai but she was still her mother and she was not going to leave her all one her own in a strange place…
She knew what it was like to be a stranger in a strange place.
"Right at the top of the stairs is me and Ryou, in the middle is you, and on the other side is Serizawa. Don't bother Serizawa, he freaks out easily. Don't bother me and Ryou either, we don't freak out I just don't like to be bothered. If you have to take something up with someone then take it up with Mob, she's the one in charge here." Said Minegishi as they got to the top of the stairs. They rattled off the names and pointed at the rooms and Tsuchiya was having trouble keeping up…but she had to. Another name. Serizawa…she had never heard that name before…well she had but not in the context of the upper echelon.
There was some movement from behind that door…and what felt like a qi flare….she made a note to keep Mukai away from that door.
"So I would talk to her about changing living quarters?" asked Tsuchiya. Minegishi raised the space where an eyebrow would have been. She wondered if they shaved them off as a fashion thing or if they had been born without them. Now did not seem like the time to ask.
"What? You're sick of us already?" asked Minegishi sarcastically.
"No, I would just like to be near my daughter. Shigeko….Suzuki…the Vice President said that she wanted Mukai to live with her and her brother and-"said Tsuchiya
"Mob doesn't want you in the house because she thinks that you slept with her father and she's still weirded out by the idea of her parents having sex with each other let alone other people." Said Minegishi
"I am so sick of that rumor! I never touched him and-"said Tsuchiya
"I know. The timeline doesn't add up. Nine months before her birthday we were in Korea, and the note that came with the baby was in Korean, and no offense but you don't look Korean." Said Minegishi
"I'm not….Mukai…she's Korean?" asked Tsuchiya. That…would have made sense. The shape of her eyes…the roundness in her face….how high her cheekbones were….oh. Well now Tsuchiya would have to learn Korean…no wonder it took Mukai so long to learn to speak. So she was half Korean and half…whatever the President was….huh….
"At least half. I have no idea what Suzuki is, so don't ask me. But, yeah, she's Korean and even if she wasn't I can do basic math. Mob can't, it's a combination of being stoned all the time and the fact that she hasn't gone to school since before I met her, and she's still weirded out by the circumstances of her sister's existence. She doesn't dislike you…but she's going to keep her distance for a while. She won't be mean to you or anything like that, that's not the kind of person she is so don't worry about that." Said Minegishi
"So she's….reasonable?" asked Tsuchiya. She had never spent any length of time around President Suzuki but she knew that he was…unreasonable…to say the least. The list of things that could set him off changed hourly it seemed…and Shigeko was his daughter…and Sho was pretty high strung himself…and so was Mukai….
"In her own way, yes, Mob is pretty damn reasonable...but don't bother her for a while. She's going through a lot right now. She threw her dad out of the house because of all of this…and she figured out that he cheated on her mom…not to mention that shit with Fukuda getting her little brother to sneak around….yeah. Just let her be happy for a while. She deserves it." Said Minegishi
"I get that she's going through a lot but Mukai is my daughter and I don't want her living away from me. I don't care how nice she is-" said Tsuchiya. Mukai was her child and this was one of those things that she was going to have to put her foot down for. She had stood up to Ishiguro…if she could stand up to him then she could stand up to anyone.
"She's very nice and…and I'm sure that when Miss Suzuki starts to feel better than she'll be happy to be friends with you!" said a voice from behind Serizawa's door…presumably Serizawa…though he was talking like he was an Awakened and not a member of the upper echelon….and this place hadn't struck her as being that culty but…well…this was Claw after all….
"Serizawa speaks the truth. In his rambling there is wisdom. Anyway this is your room. Hope you like the smell of lynx and cheeto du-" said Minegishi as they grabbed the doorknob. Before they could turn it there was a shift in the energy around them….and the smell of coffee filled the hallway.
"Toshi, ok, I have no idea what's in any of these cups but I know that, statistically, you'll have to like some of it." Said Shimazaki. He was standing there beside Minegishi….his hands full of coffee cups. His arms were crossed in front of himself to hold all of the coffee…and they all had different names on them….Shibata had been right about the stealing….
"Thanks Ryou…though you could have put some clothes on before you left. You know. To make the stealing easier." Said Minegishi. They smiled and…was that a giggle? Did Minegishi Toshiki just giggle? Huh…so they could laugh…and smile…and their eyes could look at least half alive….
"Yeah I could have put I didn't. Anyway, please partake of my coffee based bounty…though some of this smells like it might be hot chocolate." Said Shimazaki
"Ryou…you're crazy, you know that?" asked Minegishi. There was that same smile tugging at the corners of their mouth. It was...Tsuchiya knew that she had just met them but she got the feeling that she was seeing something rare….and private…though that might have been the lack of distance between them and their boyfriend making the atmosphere weird.
"But that's what you love about me." Said Shimazaki. He leaned down and kissed the top of their head….yup. Tsuchiya decided to stay very still incase his 'vision' was based on movement or something. She had nothing against loving couples…well she did if Matsuo was getting hurt…..but she didn't want to stand and watch….this…
"I do." Said Minegishi
"And you need me." Said Shimazaki
"I suppose I do occasionally need you….Ryou." Said Minegishi. They smiled at him again…and he smiled right back…and Tsuchiya scooted away from them. She opened the door a crack and slid her way in and…yup. It did smell like lynx…had a teenage boy died in here or something? She made her way into the room…Minegishi had either forgotten that Tsuchiya was there or they didn't care who saw them kissing their boyfriend….Tsuchiya did not want to see that. She made her way into the room and closed the door….and then she leaned against the wall…and slid down until she was on the floor…
And then the music started up.
On one side of the room, coming through one wall, was the background music to one of the Mario games…and to the other side was the Beatles…at least it sounded like them. She knew some of their songs….but her English wasn't the best….and….well it would improve since this was apparently the house where people blared music…she could hear a mixer going…and also the house of incessant cooking….and maybe it was better that Mukai spent time with her brother and sister…she wasn't used to this kind of chaos…
She had always had her own apartment.
Well she and Tsuchiya had always had their own apartment. The perks of being a Scar. They hadn't had a big apartment, this house was much bigger, but it had just been them. They had lived in a soundproofed apartment and…and this would definitely be something that they would both have to get used to…..for the time being at least. This was just another path that life had laid out for them and…and they would have to walk down this path…even if it led to…this place….this loud and chaotic place….she would make do for as long as she had to….for Mukai….
She didn't want to have to make do but she would….she would make do with this unwanted promotion for as long as she could.