Bedtime had never been easy.
When Mob had been little she remembered that she had always hated bed time. She had always pretended to fall asleep, well sometimes she pretended to fall asleep, while mom read to her. Mom always read her and Sho to sleep when they had been little, as little as Mukai was now. Mom had always read one of her books and one of Sho's books….which was nice since dad always only picked what he wanted….and Fukuda had mostly on picked what Sho liked. No matter who was readying, though, Mob…well sometimes she pretended to go to sleep and then when the reading was done she got up and played with her toys until she got tired for real. She hadn't done that too often, though, since sometimes she actually was tired.
Those were the easiest bedtimes.
Mob didn't have a bedtime anymore since she was the oldest…and the only person in charge of the house. If dad had been home then Mob still would have been in charge. She was mom now because mom was gone…and she was never coming back….because of what dad had done. Dad had made Mukai and….and that was not Mukai's fault. She loved her little sister and…and even if she didn't want to go to bed then…well Mob still loved her. Bedtimes were hard. Sho always hated going to bed and he was eleven…and he looked like dad and acted like him too…not in the bad ways…
They just both liked to stay up late.
Dad liked to stay up late even though he was especially grumpy when he got tired. Sho was the same way. His bedtime was nine and she wasn't moving it until he was at least her age….well sometimes he could wring ten o'clock out of her…and sometimes she knew that he stayed up in his room playing and drawing….but at least he got into bed…sometimes. It was hard getting him to bed…and getting dad to bed….but it wasn't as hard as getting Mukai to bed.
"No bed! Not tired!" shouted Mukai as Mob tried to get her pajama shirt over her head. Her mom was standing in the doorway watching. She was watching like…like she expected Mob to mess up…like…like she was standing there and thinking that Mob didn't know how to take care of her family. Like she couldn't keep her mom from leaving and she had thrown her dad out of the house and now she wasn't even going to be able to get her own little sister ready for bed.
Mob wouldn't have been surprised if her mom thought things like that.
Mob…knew what she was doing. She dressed Sho sometimes. She held Mukai with her powers and tried to get her shirt on over her head. She didn't like this shirt…she didn't like any of her shirts. Mob had tried all the pajama shirts that her mom had brought with her. Getting her pants on…well that had been a her and Sho job….and now she was trying to take them off. Sho was getting tape….she didn't think that tape was a good idea….
But right now…well she was open to new ideas.
"Mukai…please. You need to wear pajamas. You need to go to bed." Said Mob. She didn't groan. She didn't moan. She didn't sigh. She didn't complain. She did her best to get Mukai into her pajamas like a good big sister was supposed to. She…she had dressed Sho…and Sho….well he was even harder to dress than Mukai. When he didn't want to change clothes…well that had been when he'd been little. They were too big for that now. They were big kids, not little kids, and….an Mukai was a little kid…and as a big kid Mob was supposed to take care of her…no. Not just because they were big kids. Because they were sisters.
Big sisters took care of their little sisters.
"Big sis! Have you seen the duct tape?!" asked Sho from the other room. Mob shook her head even though she knew that Sho couldn't see her. The shaking of her head got Mukai to stop squirming….and now she was tugging on Mob's braid again.
Great.
"Sho, don't use duct tape! Use…box tape…or Scotch tape…or painter's tape…or something. She has baby skin." Said Mob. She knew what it was like trying to get duct tape off of your skin. It hurt. The glue was so strong that it ripped off your hair and skin. Mukai…she felt Mukai's arm, the one that was reached up to tug on her hair, and felt it. Not a lot of hair on her arms. Not like dad and Sho had. Baby Mukai took after her…finally. Some way that she took after Mob….
Which actually didn't make sense….because they had the same dad but not the same mom….but Mob wasn't going to think about that now.
Mukai's mom was right there in the doorway. She…had adopted Mukai…that was the story, anyway. Mob knew that sometimes Sho told lies. She knew that the people closest to her, the people who she loved the most, could lie to her. Sometimes people told lies and…and she could never trust her brother again…it felt like. She didn't know if Sho was telling the truth…but she did know that Mukai and her mom both had scars on their cheeks…but that might not have meant anything. She…well she wasn't sure how genes worked…maybe scars weren't genetic…..she didn't know…
She didn't want to think about this.
"I'm not going to put it on her skin! I'm going to tape her shirt to her pants and then her socks to her feet!" said Sho
"Sho, no taping people! That's for making wallets and fixing things when they break." Said Mob
"But I'm not going to tape her skin, I'm just going to tape her clothes together!" said Sho
"Sho, what if she has to-" asked Mob. She had been about to ask Sho what, exactly, he planned on having Mukai do when she had to go to the bathroom. She was still in pullups and she would never be out of pullups if she couldn't go to the bathroom when she needed to. Mob…she had forgotten how much she disliked changing diapers….but it was something that she had to do. She had to be a good big sister.
She was a good big sister.
"No taping up my kid! That's a rule!" said Mukai's mom. Mob frowned and pulled her braid free from Mukai's hand. She called over one of her dolls, an Elsa that was already kind of broken, and handed it to Mukai. She….was not mad…even though Mukai's mom didn't get to make rules just because she was a mom…and she shouldn't have even been in the house! Mob had made sure that she had her own room, technically, next door. Sure Shibata was technically living in there but he slept on the couch even though it was way too small. Mob had made sure that everyone was going to be nice to Mukai's mom…and make her feel welcome and…
And there were lots of other adults there for her to make friends with. She should have been happy.
But she was here…in the house. This was the house that Mob lived in with her FAMILY…no. That was mean. That was super mean and…and she should not have thought like that. Suzuki blood was inside of Mukai but her family name was Sagami and….and that was her mom's name…and Mob…well she knew that they hadn't even been in Japan when Mukai was growing in her mom's stomach. The note that had come with her had been in Korean…
But anyone could learn Korean.
Anyone could learn Korean…and also dad had told her to do basic math. She knew from the books that Minegishi gave her that it took nine months to make a baby…but that was for normal people. She and Sho were only five months apart. They were espers, though, so espers didn't take as long to grow…and they still hadn't been in Japan…..but….well people could take airplanes. Maybe it was like in the movie that she and Minegishi watched where there was this business man and he had an affair with a pretty lady but then she turned out to be a snake wearing human skin and she had his eggs and then the eggs turned into half human half snake people….
Mob was way too tired.
"What?" asked Mukai's mom. Mukai looked up and threw her doll at her mom. Her mom caught it and tossed it back…even though that was pretty much going to keep her up even longer. Sho needed to wind down before bed or he'd be nothing but energy all night. She always had him shower, get into his pajamas, and then they'd watch a little TV or he'd draw a little bit before she put him to bed and read in the same room as him, but not to him, because he was not a baby. Mukai was the baby…little kid…and she still needed a story…and Mob would let her pick out any book on the shelf….
Just so long as she went to sleep.
"What, mama? What's up?" asked Mukai. She let go of Mob's braid and stuck her finger in her nose. Mob didn't want to try and get her finger out of there…it just wasn't worth it. She still had to get Sho into the tub after she put Mukai to bed…and then she had to get the dishes done, the rest of the kitchen unpacked, her hair washed, some homeschool done, and also she had promised Serizawa that she would play videogames with him…they were going to have a playdate for their Nintendogs….and then also they were going to be a team against the computer in Mario Tennis…..and whatever else he wanted to play. She had a lot to do and she did not have the energy to start pulling fingers out of noses.
Or to deal with someone else coming into her house and making rules.
"I wasn't talking to you, Mukai, I was talking to your sister." Said Mukai's mom. Mobs aura got brighter at the word 'sister'….and she didn't think that it had been in a good way. She didn't know why she was upset. Mukai was her little sister….that was the truth. She had a sister…even though everyone in her family had done their best to keep her little sister from her…she still had a little sister.
"What is it?" asked Mob in her calmest voice. Mukai was trying to take her socks off now…but she needed her socks. There weren't her little baby socks…they were her little kid socks. They were just as pink as her little baby socks but…well her little baby socks were like doll socks on her now…and she just…she wore kid socks now and…and Mob…she didn't have to save her little kid socks anymore. She had Mukai now and…and she could leave her socks alone….
And she could teach Mukai to keep her socks on.
"You seemed pretty down there, your qi I mean." Said Mukai's mom as Mob pulled Mukai's little kid socks back up. She needed them. Her feet got cold at night. Mob remembered. When she'd been a baby her feet had felt like blocks of ice in those times when she'd kicked her socks off. She loved Sho a lot…but he hadn't been good about keeping Mukai's socks on…but that was ok….he was learning….
Though she really hoped that he wasn't still planning on taping Mukai's socks on her feet.
"You mean my aura?" asked Mob as Mukai kicked her in the face. She tried her best to keep her aura calm. After the kids went to sleep she'd smoke with Serizawa….or near him. He didn't really like that kind of stuff…but also he didn't try and stop her so he was ok. She'd get him to smoke more as time went on, it was good for him, good for when he got stressed and exploded. Mob…she didn't want to have to worry about that…not when she had enough to worry about as it was….
Like getting her baby sister into her pajamas already….and not whether or not the word was aura or qi.
"Aura, qi, same thing." Said Mukai's mom with a wave of her hand. Mukai sat up and did the same thing…and then she laughed. Mob smiled even though it wasn't that funny….no. That was mean. Mukai was cute and funny and…and of course she was going to take after her mom…even though she supposedly hadn't grown in that lady's stomach….
Not that it was any of Mob's business who her dad…who had tricked her dad into making a baby with him just because she felt like wrecking Mob's entire family.
"I'm fine…just tired. She won't go to bed…but this is her bedtime…and she won't let me put her shirt on." Said Mob. She was not going to get mad. She was going to tally up her mean thoughts for the day and then she was going to spend time with Serizawa and smoke her mean thoughts away….or maybe she would just hang out with Shimazaki since he was always up to smoke with her…and he was fun…well of all of her friends were fun but he was especially fun.
"I can see that. How about you let me take it from here?" asked Mukai's mom. She finally stepped out of the doorway….apparently she didn't know that it was rude to lurk in doorways…no. Mob was being mean again. She needed to stop that. She may not have looked like dad but she still took after him…in this meanness….this new sort of meanness…
She had to stop it.
"I'm fine." Said Mob. She smiled when she said that…and she kept on smiling as Mukai's mom crossed the room. She kept on smiling as Mukai's mom stepped on her Belle doll…she hadn't played with it in a while but it was still hers. She kept on smiling as Mukai's mom stepped on her singling Elsa doll too…that doll hadn't sang in years but still…no. This was fine. She just had to keep on smiling…not matter what…
Even if that 'what' was sitting right down in the middle of her room like…like it was just…a thing that could happen!
"You know that there's nothing wrong with needing help, right?" asked Mukai's mom as she sat down next to Mob and Mukai. She kept on smiling…and she wouldn't stop smiling….because she had to make a good example for Mukai. She had to be a good big sister to Mukai.
"I don't need help. I know how to take care of my siblings. I took care of her when dad brought her home and I've been taking care of Sho since my mom left. I know what I'm doing." Said Mob. She still smiled as she said that…because she had to smile. She had to smile and be sweet like mom had said…her own mom. The mom had grown her inside of her body. The mom who had taught her to brush her hair and braid it too. The mom who taught her how to cook and take care of the house. The mom who…who had been married to dad…and who was Sho's mom too…and who…who was never coming back…because of dad…and his cheating….and Mukai….
No, this was not and would never be Mukai's fault.
Mob leaned her head down so Mukai could grab her braid. She loved her little sister…and if loving her little sister meant that she would get her hair pulled out then that was fine. She loved her sister and she was never letting her go again. She was never going to…to be like her mom. She was going to be better than her mom. She was going to take good care of Mukai.
She was Suzuki Shigeko…she was the last girl in the Suzuki family….who wasn't a little kid. She knew how to take care of her family.
"I never said that you didn't, I just said that you might need some help. You don't know Mukai's schedule. Usually we get in some exercise before bath time…and you would have known that if you had asked me." Said Mukai's mom. Mob…kept on smiling. She was tired….but she wasn't too tired to smile. That was what she had to do…just keep smiling…because she was happy. She couldn't be happier….she had everything that she had ever wanted. She had gotten her sister…she had gotten what she had wanted…but she had lost what she had. She had lost her dad…and her mom….and now her mom was gone and her dad was gone and…
And she kept on smiling.
"I know how to take care of my own sister." Said Mob with that same smile she had been wearing. She loved her sister and…and she wasn't going to be mean…even though this…lady….was here talking to her like she didn't know what she was doing.
"I never said that you didn't. You're a great sister, I can tell, but you aren't her mother." Said Mukai's mom. Mob…didn't…she didn't want to hear that. She knew that she wasn't Mukai's mom but…but she was her sister…and being someone's sister was like being their mom only without being married to dad….gross….so gross….
"I don't see what the difference is….besides growing her in my stomach….but that's just a thing that happens sometimes. It doesn't mean anything." Said Mob still smiling…even though she knew that it didn't reach her aura.
"You're right, it doesn't. Blood doesn't make a family, love makes a family." Said Mukai's mom. She smiled at Mukai while she said that. Mukai let go of Mob's braid and jumped to her feet.
"Love makes a family! Read, mama! Read!" said Mukai. Her mom smiled and picked up her shirt. Mukai…she just raised her arms above her head. She just raised her arms up and her mom put her shirt on and…and then that was that.
"I'll unpack the book in a minute but first let's train. How's that sound?" asked Mukai's mom as she straightened Mukai's shirt out….not well. Mob finished the job with her powers.
"I kick butt!" shouted Mukai before she ran away…leaving Mob alone. She ran so fast that…that she slid a little….and Mob didn't even have time to help her up with her powers. She could only watch her little sister run away…she could only watch her little sister leave her…and then her little sister's mom left too…and she was all alone….
She tugged on her braid.
She tugged on her braid and…and she just….Mukai was running and laughing. She was running and laughing and…and that was good. That was all that she had ever wanted, her little sister back, and…and when you got what you wanted then you lost what you had. She loved…she loved her sister…a lot more than her dad. Her dad had lied to her and cheated on her mom and….and she…she missed….the feeling of him being there. The way that…that they would have watched TV together or…or played Minecraft or…or dolls and….and she just…
She had her brother and sister…and that was all that she had ever wanted.
"Ok, I couldn't find the tape but I did find some glue and…big sis? You ok?" asked Sho as he came into the room holding crafting glue…which was worse than the tape idea had been. Mob took the glue from him with her powers and put it under their new bunk beds. They had those because they had to share a room with Mukai….and that was all that she had ever wanted….
Her brother and sister…that was what she wanted…and that was what she had.
"I'm fine just…come on, Sho. I'll run you your own bath…and stuff….and don't fight with me about taking a bath. You need one, you smell bad, and I….my job is to take care of you….I know how to take care of you." Said Mob. She got up, hugged Sho, and then went to draw him his own bath. She…she had a lot to do…and if Mukai's mom wanted to put her to bed then…then fine. She could help…Mob had a lot to do as it was…bedtimes were super busy.
Bedtimes had never been easy…and she was really tired…but she knew what she was doing.