"Mama! Time to wake up!"

Tsuchiya woke up to the feeling of being slapped in the face. That was normal. Mukai was going through some kind of slapping phase….well it had been a lifelong phase….but they had been working on that for a while now. Mukai had actually been good about that, lately, not slapping people awake….but this week…had been a lot of backsliding.

For obvious reasons.

"Mukai, if you don't stop slapping I'm going right back to sleep." Said Tsuchiya as she opened her eyes. Mukai was standing over her…and she had toothpaste all over her mouth. She had tried to brush her own teeth…well more like her brother and sister had let her brush her own teeth. Tsuchiya had been pretty clear about the fact that Mukai wasn't old enough to do that yet but, apparently, it went in one ear and out the other like everything else she told these kids.

These incredibly stubborn, headstrong, kids.

"No sleep! The sky's awake now I'm awake." Said Mukai. She said that in the practiced way she did when she was quoting something. Frozen. Most likely her sister's influence…they had been here one day and Shigeko was making an impression…though in that one day the movie had been playing on a loop in the living room….

Either way it was always good when Mukai strung some new words together.

"Is the sky awake?" asked Tsuchiya as she sat up. Mukai grabbed the front of her shirt and pointed at the living room windows.

"Look mama, look." Said Mukai as she pointed out the window

"I see, Mukai, I see…and no pulling. Come on, you know we don't do that." Said Tsuchiya. Mukai let go of her shirt.

"No pulling." Said Mukai

"That's right, now come on. Let's see what we can make for breakfast. I bet your brother and sister would like that. You think?" asked Tsuchiya. Mukai looked at her, and then the kitchen, and then at her again. Her pupils were small, down to nothing more than little black dots, and she was biting her lower lip. She was deep in thought. Tsuchiya had always wondered about that but now she knew that it was a family thing. Sho did the same thing when he was thinking. Shigeko…well she hadn't spent enough time with Shigeko to know exactly what her tells were yet.

She got the feeling that Shigeko didn't want her there.

Having her own room next door in the house with all the adults had been her first clue. Her qi, the barely contained anger, was the second. She was a twelve year old girl, of course she was angry, but she shouldn't have been angry with Tsuchiya…and she shouldn't have been swallowing her anger like that either. She had every right to be angry, Tsuchiya had no idea what she was so angry about but everyone had the right to their feelings, but swallowing it was bad for her. She didn't want Mukai learning that either….though Mukai had never been anything but free with her feelings.

She was only two after all.

"Pancakes." Said Mukai finally. She nodded to herself, like she had come to the end of a great debate, and now she was pleased with the outcome. Tsuchiya had wished, on more than one occasion, that she had been a telepath instead of a qi fighter. She wished that she knew what went on in Mukai's head. What did she think about all day? She did have thoughts, sometimes even complex ones, she just had trouble expressing them because she was only two….she was speaking more these days…which was good…

Though Tsuchiya really hoped that she didn't end up picking up on her brother's more…colorful…vocabulary.

"Fuck!" shouted Sho. There was the sound of some kind of crash and then a quitter string of profanity. Tsuchiya reached over and put her hands over Mukai's ears. How the President could have let his son talk like that was beyond her. She had been told that he was an incredibly strict parent…though she couldn't see it. With the way his son carried on…and the way his daughter seemed to run the household at the age of twelve….though the President's appearance may have had something to do with that…

Not that she wanted that man anywhere near her daughter.

"Sho, stop it. If you didn't want to step on your pencils then you shouldn't have left them on the ground." Said Shigeko, her voice carrying down the hall. Measured. That was the best way to describe it. A measured sort of monotone, like she chose all of her words carefully. She got that from her father. Tsuchiya had been close enough to the President once to overhear the way he spoke to those who were close to him. Not much affect.

Thank God that he hadn't passed that down to Mukai.

Mukai was trying to run away now, she wanted to get back to her brother and sister…and why not? They played with her. Yesterday had been nonstop playtime…which was fine….but Mukai had missed her nap. She had also missed baby yoga, baby meditation, and her screen time allowance was overdrawn for the next two weeks. The kids…they wanted to have fun with their new sister….and Tsuchiya could understand that….but it was time that everyone got back to their schedules…

If those two were even on any kind of a schedule.

"Sho hurt." Said Mukai as she pointed down the hall. Tsuchiya nodded.

"Sho IS hurt. Is." Said Tsuchiya with an emphasis on the word IS. Mukai wasn't the best at conjugating….though she had been trying it out. She didn't need to fall behind when it came to speech. Tsuchiya had done her research. Only children tended to be a little behind when it came to talking and socializing…and Mukai had it even worse than an on only child. She was the one person her age in the whole of Claw. She didn't have a single playmate aside from her brother and sister….

Tsuchiya did not need Mukai taking after her older brother.

"There's a chip stuck in my footing foot!' said Sho

"Hold still and I'll get it out with tweezers." Said Shigeko

"I hate those stupid tweezers! You always stab me with them!" said Sho

"I'll try with my powers then…but it's not a very big piece of graphite thought…" said Shigeko

"Sho is hurt." Said Mukai. She nodded to herself again and kissed the top of her hand. That meant 'ouchie'….well it had meant 'ouchie' when she had been too small to talk. That wasn't real baby sign language, Mukai hadn't cared for that at all, but they had worked out some signs between themselves.

"Maybe…but he'll be fine. Come on, let's stretch and then I'll see about making us some pancakes. How about that?" asked Tsuchiya. Mukai nodded and grabbed her hand. Tsuchiya let Mukai pull her until she was standing up. She was pulling nicely now so this was ok. Tsuchiya got up and pushed the coffee table out of the way. Some pencils and an empty bottle that used to house soda rolled off the table. She picked it up and put it to the side. She wondered if they ever had cleaners coming through here…they must have. There was no way that two kids could be trusted to clean up after themselves.

Though President Suzuki didn't strike her as being the most attentive parent.

If he left his kids here without any kind of caretaker…well she wouldn't have put it past him. There were other adults, true, but she got the feeling that they didn't do much adulting over there. Nobody had come over to check on the kids…though that might have been because she was here now. Maybe they figured that since she was the mother of one of President Suzuki's children then she could be the mother of all of his children.

She did not want to be the mother of all of his children.

"Mountain, mama, mountain!" said Mukai as she stood as straight as she could with her arms straight out. She had everything memorized at this point, she was bright like that, and they had been doing the same thing every morning since she had been able to stand. This was good for keeping her centered…she had a problem with that….

She wasn't the only Suzuki with a problem with that.

"Mother fucker!" shouted Sho, his voice carrying down the hall, down the stairs, and through the house. Tsuchiya had to reach out and cover Mukai's ears. She was still in mountain pose. She didn't have the concept of bad words yet. Tsuchiya didn't even know how to explain to her that some words were good and some words were bad. She didn't even know how to conjugate yet.

"Sho, I didn't even do anything…and stop yelling. You're going to scare Mukai, she's little." Said Shigeko. Mukai smiled and stuck out her tongue. Tsuchiya wasn't afraid of Mukai getting scared…not that she was going to get into the middle of whatever that was. She had to get Mukai all stretched out, and herself too, and then she had to get breakfast on the table. She…did not feel like going next door. She had been told that Shibata was the one who did all the cooking, and he seemed like a very nice man, but she didn't feel like heading over to the flophouse just yet…or ever if it could have been avoided.

She would rather have dealt with a couple of kids than a house full of stoned adults.

"Mama, mountain. Now." Said Mukai. She was still in mountain pose….Tsuchiya wished that she had her phone on her. This was too cute. Matsuo would have got a kick out of this. Koyama, too, even though he pretended that he didn't like kids…or anything, really, that conflicted with the whole 'tough guy' act he'd been working on for the past thirty something years. God…even Ishiguro, bitch that she was, had said that Mukai was kind of cute sometimes…she wondered how the others were doing. They were scattered to the four winds until the 'unscheduled renovations', as Ishiguro put it, were complete….and maybe longer, too, since she didn't see Shigeko letting her and Mukai go anytime soon….

Maybe when the President came back from…wherever he had gone off to.

"Alright, Mukai, you're right. Mountain time." Said Tsuchiya as she got into mountain pose. She would do some serious yoga later while Mukai was playing with her brother and sister….and then she'd get her punching bag set up and do some training with Mukai…and then…well and then she didn't know. She still didn't know what, exactly, everyone did all day here. What did the highest echelon of Claw even…do?

Besides follow the President around and listen to his kids.

"Tree mama, tree." Said Mukai as she held out her hand. Tsuchiya took it and got into tree pose. Mukai was more balanced these days. She used to topple over with this one. That was good. She was getting more of her motor skills…always a good thing….she was getting older. There was something kind of bittersweet to it. She was going to get older and one day she'd be as old as her older siblings….that was certainly a thought. Eleven or twelve year old Mukai….hopefully she'd be happy. That was all she wanted for her daughter, her happiness, and…well she wanted her to be good, too.

She wanted Mukai to be a good person.

Her brother and sister…were good kids. Sho, at least, she knew was a good boy. He was a sweet kid, when he wasn't cursing like a drunken sailor or freaking himself out, and he was actually very bright and a good artist. His sister was…a nice girl. Responsible enough to be trusted to run Claw at times…and run her household. These were good kids…they were ok kids…but Tsuchiya…well she didn't want Mukai to end up taking on the worst of those two…

But that might have been their father in them.

"Down dog." Said Mukai as she let go of Tsuchiya's hand. She went immediately down to downward dog. She was rushing today…she wanted to get on with playing with her brother and sister…and she wanted pancakes too. Hopefully these kids had some kind of mix around because she was not in the mood to make them from scratch. They always came out way too flat when she did that. Mukai liked light and fluffy pancakes, the kind she saw in her shows….and with lots of warm syrup too…

She wondered how the Suzuki kids took their pancakes.

"Come on, mama, come on." Said Mukai. There was a whine, there, but that was…well she didn't know that she was whining. She was only two. Mom and dad….they hadn't liked whining. No whining in this dojo…no a lot of things in their dojo…not that she'd had it that bad. She was nicer to Mukai, though, than mom and dad had been. A lot more fun. You always had to make time for fun…kids needed to have fun every once in a while.

Fun and rules….in equal parts.

"Ok, ok, ok, downward dog." Said Tsuchiya as she got down on the rug next to her daughter. She needed to unpack their yoga mats…and she needed to vacuum this floor too. She was laying on something that crunched…and something else that crunched…what was this rug covered in? What was…she reached over and….Doritos? What on Earth…..they were going to get rats like this. Snacks were ok every once in a while, it wasn't like she was making Mukai live on white rice and raw vegetables…healthy but boring, but she didn't let her live on chips…or leave them on the floor like this. If her mom had been there she would have made Tsuchiya pick them all up by hand while she contemplated the values of cleanliness and frugality…or whatever.

"Now happy baby." Said Mukai as she rolled over onto her back. Well then, someone was in a hurry.

"That fast?" asked Tsuchiya

"Happy baby now!" said Mukai. Tsuchiya rolled onto her back. She'd rush just this once. She had promised Mukai pancakes after all…and her brother and sister were finally coming down the stairs. She had no idea what those two had been up to but she was glad that it was done with. She could hear heavy footsteps running down the stairs and a shift in the qi around them. It had been a while since she'd been in a place without some way to block other people's qi from passing from room to room. Curse rooms were terrible….but also it was nice to just have some….peace. Her qi was used to Mukai's already…and it looked like she was going to have to get used to these two other kids…

Something which was probably easier said than done.

"What are we doing? Rolling around on the floor?" asked Sho as he jumped over the couch and landed beside her. She felt the floor move under him…he was way too big to be jumping around like that…and he was going to get Mukai jumping around on the furniture like that too. Did she even have the right, right now, to tell him to knock it off? This was his house…but still. That wasn't a good habit to have at all…

And not one that she wanted passed down to Mukai.

"Big brother! Happy baby! Now!" said Mukai. She had taken to calling him 'big brother' at his insistence. Tsuchiya doubted she even knew what the words meant….though who knew with Mukai. She was a smart kid. She was smart enough to know not to go jumping on the furniture, anyway, even though that was what her big brother had just done…she wanted pancakes. That was it. She was so smart sometimes it was amazing.

Tsuchiya wondered where she got it from.

She wasn't a hypercognate…at least Tsuchiya didn't think so. She spoke and walked and talked when it was normal for her age. She wasn't some kind of prodigy, she wasn't solving math problems or writing symphonies or anything like that. She seemed normal…was this a normal amount of…presence…for a two year old? She really didn't know. The books could only tell her so much. She wished, sometimes, that she knew more about Mukai's biological parents. Fukuda had just handed her Mukai and said 'here, raise this baby for the President' and then that had been it. What had he been like as a baby? He must have been bright….parts of his life were public record. Good marks in school, kendo champion, discovered an asteroid when he was fourteen, went to Tokyo University, and also there was the whole starting and maintaining Claw thing….so he was a bright man…but what about her biological mother? There was nothing…not even a name…just that she'd been Korean or something….and there were a lot of women in Korea…and she had no idea if Mukai's biological mother had been an esper or not…

It didn't really matter at the end of the day, Mukai was still Mukai, but it would have been nice to have some pieces to the puzzle that was 'where in the hell Mukai had come from' just to know what to expect…just to know if she was expected another Sho or Shigeko.

"Yeah, you are a happy baby, aren't you? You're the happiest little toothpaste eater in the whole world." Said Sho

"Did you two let her eat toothpaste?" asked Tsuchiya as she sat up. Mukai was trying to pull her back down…but she needed to sit up. You were not supposed to eat toothpaste, apparently it was bad for you even though you were supposed to put it in your mouth, and…and she did not feel like taking Mukai to the emergency room or track down wherever the only healer in all of Claw had defected to.

"She tried to. I think she thought that it was food because it was the bubblegum kind. She's ok now." Said Sho

"I eated the toothpaste." Said Mukai. She smiled and sat up as she said that….and she seemed fine…and she had been hungry a minute ago…so maybe she was ok. Still, those two should have stopped her…and they should have woken Tsuchiya up when Mukai got up like she had specifically told them to.

"Not very much." Said Sho quickly.

"Want pancakes now." Said Mukai. She pointed to the kitchen in case Tsuchiya hadn't been aware of where it was. She was so smart sometimes….she was a demanding little toothpaste eater…but she was smart.

"Yeah, me too…come on. I bet Shibata would make us some. He likes feeding people." Said Sho. He got up and tried to help Mukai to her feet. She pulled her hand back and pushed herself up from the ground.

"You guys don't have to go anywhere. I can make us some breakfast right now. No need to disturb the others." Said Tsuchiya. She didn't know a child friendly way of saying 'I don't want my baby around a bunch of stoned adults who had done things that I can't even begin to talk about with you' and…well she could have said that but that would have turned into a big production and…yeah. She needed to get breakfast on the table. They were already off schedule…she hadn't slept at all….and Mukai did not deal well with being off schedule.

"Shibata loves being disturbed. Come on, baby sis, let's get your shoes on and wake Shibata up." Said Sho as he took Mukai by the hand. So he was just…doing that. He wasn't even dressed. He was still in his pajamas…she had no idea how he could have worn long sleeves and long pants in the summer time…and he was just going to put his shoes on and just…go outside like that? What? How….what?

"Kid, don't you at least plan on putting something on?" asked Tsuchiya

"I'm not naked." Said Sho

"No, I meant day clothes." Said Tsuchiya

"Why? I'm not going anywhere." Said Sho

"Kid….you can't just walk outside in your pajamas." Said Tsuchiya. What in the…how did he just…why? She hadn't ever walked around outside in her pajamas, not even when she had been a little kid. Though mom and dad had been strict about that….and also she had been living in a temple for most of her childhood….was she being too strict here? Or was she not being strict enough? Could she even be strict with this kid? This was not her son…she was not raising him…but it didn't really look like anyone else was putting any effort into raising him….

Anyone other than his twelve year old sister.

"Big sis! Do I have to wear clothes today!?" shouted Sho. Mukai laughed and started clapping. That was funny to her but headache inducing to the rest of the world. President Suzuki just let his kids scream through the house like that? The same President Suzuki who had people thrown off of buildings for talking during meetings? The same President Suzuki who called for Claw wide silence when he'd had enough of one particular person? That President Suzuki?

Apparently he was a very different man at home.

"Are you wearing your favorite pajamas?" asked Shigeko. Sho looked down at his shirt and actually started to think. Mukai looked down at her shirt and did the same. She picked at the cat on the front. Sho did the same to the rabbit.

"These are my Judy ones…so….third favorite I guess?" asked Sho. He turned to face the stairs…as he turned she spotted a phone in his pocket. At this point wouldn't it have been easier if he just picked up his phone and called his sister.

"Do you want me to wash them in the next load?" asked Shigeko

"Are you doing a load of pajamas again?" asked Sho

"Clothes in general." Said Shigeko

"What?" asked Sho

"In general!" said Shigeko

"In general!" shouted Mukai. Tsuchiya shook her head. This was more than enough.

"Kid…can't you just go upstairs and talk to your sister in the same room or something?" asked Tsuchiya. She did not know how the President could have lived with this. He had always seemed like such a high strung man….maybe this was why he was so high strung. He was a single father of two after all, according to Shigeko her mother had left years ago, and that was enough to drive anyone to start digging traitor holes.

"Yeah….I guess. Ok, big sis is doing laundry so if you want your stuff clean you have to put it in the basket before she puts it in the machine…but not while the machine is going. If you put your clothes in the machine while it's going then it'll be overloaded and bounce around…and then the laundry room is going to flood and it always sucks when that happens." Said Sho

"It sucks, mama, it sucks!" said Mukai

"Yeah…I get it. We're good, I did all of our laundry before we moved. How about you get dressed and then we can have some breakfast…and tell your sister that I'll be making it." Said Tsuchiya. Alright…so she knew how to do laundry. That wasn't so weird…right? She had been doing her own laundry at that age…but mom and dad had been big on the whole 'self-sufficiency' thing. President Suzuki seemed to be big on it too…maybe…she didn't know. This was not her household and these were not her kids…

But she was the only adult in the house.

She had to take care of the kids…right? As the only adult in the house. Not the only woman, no, the only adult. This wasn't a gender thing. She just…had to be the one to take care of these kids. Their dad had gone off for some reason. This dad…he just…left. That was…she didn't know what he was doing with his household….

She was glad that she had Mukai.

She went to her suitcase and pulled out some day clothes for herself and Mukai. Not everything that had been packed was put away…that was something to do today. She would see about getting her and Mukai that spare room she had seen…that is if the President wasn't coming back. There was a spare room here and apparently it was for the President but he had left…and she didn't know if he was going to come back. She had no idea what she was supposed to do if he ever came back….if he had some kind of interest in parenting Mukai…

She was not losing her daughter.

The thought makes her feel like she had stepped under a waterfall. She felt cold, very cold, and like something heavy was beating down on her head and shoulders. She pushed through the feeling. She had done plenty of waterfall meditation. She could look past this feeling. If President Suzuki came back then….well then she could more to Tokyo HQ maybe or…she didn't know. She would think about this later. Right now she needed to get herself and Mukai dressed.

One thing at a time.

Getting dressed was one thing, one thing that she had gotten through fast. Pick out the clothes, change in the bathroom, and come back downstairs. She had done it a thousand times, changed clothes, and even in a new place she and Mukai could get dressed quickly. Mukai wasn't even that squirmy right now…she was excited by the prospect of pancakes. Good. Now she could make breakfast and clean up…get some meditation in…do some chores…yeah. Things to keep busy while she just…got things all sorted out.

While she got herself all sorted out.

She carried Mukai down the stairs and into the kitchen. This kitchen…was not completely unpacked. There were boxes stacked up in the corner and…she checked the cabinets. They had something called birthday cake funfetti pancake mix. She could make that…it would be a nice treat. She didn't like giving Mukai that much sugar….but she could limit sugar tomorrow. Mukai did not do well with a bunch of sugar in her system. She sat Mukai down at the table on top of a book….she would need to find the booster seat…something else to do. After this.

Someone needed to get breakfast on the table.

"What are you doing?" asked Shigeko as she walked into the kitchen, taking the quietest steps humanly possible. She reached over and helped Mukai down from her seat….and got her braid tugged for her trouble. She got her braid tugged and her lip gloss smeared…and should a girl her age have been wearing makeup? She hadn't ever been allowed to wear makeup, mom and dad had even gotten upset when she came back from university for winter break wearing some, but…well she had at least been an adult when she started. Shigeko was twelve years old…should she have been wearing makeup…or even such heavy makeup? She really didn't know…she hadn't done any research into this stage of life since Mukai was still ten years away from all that….

And this wasn't her kid, anyway…but she was the only adult here….but that wasn't her kid….and that kid didn't even seem to like her…God only knew why.

"Making us some breakfast." Said Tsuchiya as she started opening cabinets looking for a mixing bowl or something. Who had set this kitchen up? Everything was just a mishmash.

"We're going next door…well Sho and Mukai and I are going next door for pancakes…and you can come….if you want to." Said Shigeko as Mukai let go of her braid and began to spread her glittery blue eyeshadow around.

"Why don't we just stay here? You know, and Mukai can vouch for me, I make a mean-" said Tsuchiya

"We want Shibata to make us some pancakes….I'm sure that you're a very good cook….but I want Shibata to cook for us…and also I cook in this kitchen because it's my house….but if you really want to cook then you can go next door….if you want." Said Shigeko. That was…well that sounded like a very nice way of Shigeko telling her to get the fuck out of her kitchen…and she had no idea why. What was WITH this kid?

"Well why don't we-" said Tsuchiya. She wasn't going to just start giving direct orders….not unless it was something important like last night's plan to tape Mukai's clothes on so she would stop wiggling…so maybe suggestions would work. Shigeko…she wasn't a brat…maybe she felt…threatened? Or maybe she was just upset because her dad had just up and left her….well he was busy running this shit show….but….yeah.

This must have been a lot for a little girl.

"You can do what you want to do. Me and my brother and sister are going to go next door and have pancakes." Said Shigeko. She said it and then she carried Mukai away…and it looked like they were going next door and having some pancakes with the others. Great…that was just…great. She didn't want to go next door….but she didn't want to leave Mukai alone with those people….

So off she went.

The trip next door was a short one….one with a lot of sunlight. She hadn't spent a lot of time in the sun since getting assigned to the Seventh Division…maybe the unscheduled renovation would involve the addition of some kind of windows or natural light source…yeah. This was…it was important to accentuate the positive…that was a really important thing and…and she would do that…

Even though she didn't have much to be positive about.

"Shibata! We're starving! Baby sis is going to die of hunger!" shouted Sho as he threw the door opened. Shigeko put Mukai down and she immediately took her shoes off in the genkan. Well she tried to. She wasn't the best at taking off her shoes…especially her sandals with all of the little buckles. Shigeko bent down and helped her. That was good…that freed Tsuchiya up to open some windows.

It was smoky as hell in there.

She smelled…well she smelled cigarettes and something that just was not cigarette smoke. She opened whatever windows she could find. The house shook as Shibata got up…but she paid that no mind. She had to get this place aired out. Mukai did not need to be breathing this stuff in.

None of the kids did.

"Pancakes! Pancakes now!" said Mukai. She wasn't the best with her pleases and thank yous yet…Tsuchiya would have to work on that with her…when she was done with this. She had to get these windows at least on the first floor opened…even she could feel herself being affected by the smoke…or maybe that was all in her head. She did feel like the smell was getting stronger.

Oh. That was why.

"Is there any particular reason that you're letting the air conditioning out in the middle of June…in Tokyo?" asked Minegishi, another candidate for the quietest walker in all of Japan. They were lurking behind them, something held between two fingers that Tsuchiya knew was not a cigarette. It was way too thin, too white, and it smelled terrible….and cigarette or not they should not have been smoking in front of the kids.

"I'm letting the smoke out." Said Tsuchiya simply. They raised the space where an eyebrow would have been and ashed on the floor. What did Matsuo SEE in this person? He could have done so much better than this bitch.

"Well maybe don't since it's hot as hell outside…and it's only eight in the morning." Said Minegishi. Tsuchiya took a page out of Shigeko's book and bit back the rage that she was feeling. She took a moment to settle her qi. She…did not like this person…for many reasons. They were smoking around her kid…and they were slapping Matsuo's heart around like a punching bag…and they were just…kind of a bitch…but she was not going to start something. Not now. She had to set a good example for Mukai…all the kids really…and she was expected to work with this person for the near future…

She stayed calm…even when the qi around her shifted she stayed calm.

"Toshi, if you think that this is hot then…well August isn't going to be good to you." Said Shimazaki as he teleported into the room. Tsuchiya did not jump, she was proud of herself for that, especially since it was just...unpleasant…the way the energy of the world shifted when he teleported. He would have to get used to that…she was going to have to get used to a lot of things it felt like…

Like this.

"June is terrible enough." Said Minegishi as they pushed past her and slammed the window shut. At least they passed whatever they had been smoking to Shimazaki before they did that. They rolled their eyes as they shut the window…and Tsuchiya was not going to start with them. That was the best thing that you could do in Claw, not antagonize people, especially the people that you had to work in close quarters with.

"Aren't you from Osaka?" asked Shimazaki as he leaned over and kissed them on the side of the head. Tsuchiya did not want to be around for that. She…may or may not have been able to keep things to herself….her feelings…about certain things. Mainly the fact that Matsuo did not need that. He'd been through enough as it was…and this was not her business. She had to focus on Mukai…and the other kids, too, it seemed like…since nobody else seemed to be….

Well Shibata at least seemed to be.

"I'm cooking, mama!" said Mukai as Tsuchiya entered the kitchen. Mukai was standing on a chair and mixing what looked like water around in a bowl. She was stirring too fast, getting water everywhere, but at least she was happy.

"She's making water." Said Sho. Mukai was stirring faster now, she was showing off, and she knocked the bowl off the table. Before Tsuchiya could catch it Sho caught it with his powers and put it back on the table. He even caught the water….

Amazing.

She got the feeling that….well that she was looking into the future. Mukai had an aura but beyond that she couldn't really do anything…but she would. She was the blood daughter of the most powerful man on earth after all. She was going to be just as strong as her brother…and hopefully not her sister. The Seventh Division…could have been a lot worse than it had been. There could have been more people dead…the entire place could have caved in…the whole thing could have been worse. One person's powers should not have been that immense…especially not a child's…

She didn't know what she would do if Mukai…she didn't want to think about it.

"Hang on…there. That should be easier for you." Said Shibata as he reached over and got a new bowl out of the cabinet….what appeared to be a bowl cabinet. From the brief glance that she had seen that cabinet had every single size and type of mixing bowl there was. The one that he poured Mukai's water into had a rubbed base….that was good….at least it wasn't moving around anymore.

"New bowl! Mine!" said Mukai as she stirred her water. Tsuchiya reached for her phone before she realized that she had left it back at the other house. Damn. That would have been a good picture…

And she wasn't the only one who thought so.

There was a flash and a click…there. Shigeko had decided to join the group. Shigeko and…one of the tallest men that Tsuchiya had ever seen in her life. One of, not the, tallest. That honor would always go to Shibata. Even though this new man hunched she got the feeling that he was not close to three meters tall. No, he was decently tall though…even though he made himself look small. He was attempting to hide in his robe, it felt like, and he clutched an umbrella in his hands even though he was inside. He stared at her with wide eyes, she made accidental eye contact, and he shrank back. Miss Suzuki took his hand in hers and patted it.

It didn't seem to help.

His qi…that was not good. His qi was acting like he was being chased by wolves or something. His eyes told a story too. She could see it, the fear, and she…well she had no idea what he was so afraid of. She wasn't going to ask, not on their first meeting. That was just not the thing to do in Claw. A lot of people, she had noticed, had led very difficult lives. Some people had been orphans like Sakurai, some people had been born in the wrong bodies and all that came with…like Matsuo, and some people had led lives with so much pain and suffering that she honestly hadn't ever wanted to know….she had only heard bits and pieces of some people's stories but that had been enough for her…and she wasn't going to ask this man his story….at least not now…

She was curious, though, about the person who was clinging to Shigeko.

"Serizawa, this is Tsuchiya. She's Mukai's…mom. She's not scary…but if you want to eat in your room you can. I know how scary it can be for you, meeting new people." Said Shigeko. Ah, right. The former shut in…now she remembered. She had been given a brief rundown of everyone in the house and…that poor man. Fifteen years of his life in his room…and now he was stuck with these people….

Shigeko seemed to be taking good care of him…though…despite her age.

"I'm fine…um…hello! It's nice to meet you! I'm Serizawa…but you knew that…um….uh…" said Serizawa. Shigeko reached over and patted him on the other hand, the one with the umbrella in it.

"You did really good, Serizawa, that was a really good introduction. Come on, let's sit down now. You've done enough." Said Shigeko. She took him by the hand and sat him down at the far end of the table. He eyed her wearily and clutched his umbrella. Shigeko used her power to pour him a glass of water. Mukai jumped down from her chair and follows the glass.

Tsuchiya needed to bring her camera next time.

Mukai was reaching for the glass. She was too little to drink from actual glasses. Tsuchiya got up to look for a plastic one….and Shibata beat her to it. He reached over into what must have been the cup cabinet and pulled out…oh. It had a straw. It was an energy drink water bottle with a built in straw. Someone had written 'Property of Hatori Nozomu, don't steal from me' in Japanese and what must have been a braille label underneath. Sho took the bottle from him with his powers and filled it with water before passing it to Mukai with his powers…

He had been mixing pancakes the whole time.

He hadn't even had to gesture…that was some very powerful telekinesis. She knew that it wasn't all strength when it came to telekinesis. She knew that fine movements were even more difficult…that kid…wow. Maybe it was best that Mukai was with her brother and sister…for a little bit. Tsuchiya…she did the best she could…but she wasn't telekinetic. She had no idea how powers were inherited…supposedly the President's older daughter could do just about everything…..maybe it was alright or Mukai to spend some time here…not the rest of her life though….

But some time.

"Water!" said Mukai as she tried to climb into Tsuchiya's lap. Tsuchiya picked her up and sat her down. She was banging her cup on the table….a hand towel scooted across the table and rested under her cup.

"Mukai, you can make loud noises when you get home but not here. Serizawa doesn't like loud noises. He gets scared easily…like Hatori….but you don't know him. He went with my…our….dad." said Shigeko. So she could break the monotone. She had a note of…bitterness…when she said the word 'dad' and Tsuchiya…well it must have been a lot for her…she was just a little girl after all.

"I-I'm fine….Miss Suzuki…and….Little Miss Suzuki. I don't mind her…um….oh! I forgot to introduce myself to your little sister." Said Serizawa. He gripped his umbrella in his hands like he was afraid that someone would take it from him. It clattered against the table as he shifted in place. Mukai looked up and put her water bottle down on the table…then she wiggled her way off of Tsuchiya's lap.

"Mukai, stay here." Said Tsuchiya as she pulled Mukai back up. She kicked and went limp….Tsuchiya hated it when she did this.

"It's ok, she just wants to meet Serizawa." said Shigeko

"Yeah, he's nice. He's got really bad taste in games but he's nice." Said Sho

"Hey! That's not nice, Sho. Serizawa can like whatever games he likes just like you can like whatever games you like." Said Shigeko. Tsuchiya groaned and let Mukai go. Games…why did she have to say 'games'? Why did this even have to come up? Mukai…she loved games….especially phone games. Tsuchiya…may or may not have been guilty of giving Mukai her phone when she needed a few minutes of peace and quiet.

"Games?!" said Mukai as she ran right up to Serizawa. He shrank away from her like he was scared…..and Tsuchiya did not laugh. Even though she was a two year old girl scaring a grown man…no. That wasn't nice. He'd obviously had a hard life…not everyone in Claw had been as fortunate as she had been.

"Mukai, not so loud and not so fast." Said Shigeko as she patted Serizawa on the back.

"Yeah, Serizawa's kind of a scaredy cat." Said Sho

"Sho! Be nice! Serizawa is not a scaedy cat. He's just…fragile…like Hatori." Said Shigeko. Serizawa…seemed oddly alright being insulted by children. Huh. So he was afraid of kids but he could just sit there and get insulted by them…well by Sho. Shigeko at least…well she seemed to mean well. She even corrected her brother…even though that was not her place. Tsuchiya was an only child but she got the feeling that a sibling, even one who was a year older, should not have been in charge of correcting their younger sibling like that.

"Hey Sho, how about you start adding food coloring to this batch while I start the next one?" asked Shibata. He passed Sho a plastic container full of food coloring…and Tsuchiya did not envy whoever would end up doing his laundry…no. She did not envy Shigeko at all.

"Hell yeah!" said Sho as he dumped what looked like way too much green food coloring into the batter. Those could be his pancakes….though if she had been the one in charge of him then she would have made him apologize for his language…but he was not her kid and…really she had no idea if that would have been overstepping or…what. The whole situation…she was still adjusting to it. She needed more time…not like Mukai. She had taken to this place like a fish to water.

"Sho, not in front of Mukai." Said Shigeko

"Games! Hell yeah!" said Mukai

"Mukai…don't say what Sho says. Say please and thank you but not…what Sho says….ok? Say please and thank you and then I'll let you play games on my phone." Said Shigeko. Oh. She had beaten Tsuchiya to it. She reached into her pocket for her phone. Mukai held out both of her hands.

"Games please and thank you!" said Mukai as she made the 'gimme' motion with her hands. She…well she had at least been polite. Shigeko hadn't had to make her say that. She wasn't her mother…and she didn't have to act like it…not to either of her siblings….but this had been going on for a while. She had said that she had been in charge of her household since her mom had left…however long that had been….

Maybe too long…based on the way she just…was…motherly. That was it…motherly.

"W-Wait…hang on. I have a Gameboy…and she might like that better. I mean I don't want anything to happen to your phone…since you just got a new one." said Serizawa. He reached into his robe pocket and…wow. When he said Gameboy he meant Gameboy. That was the original….the one that came out when she'd been a kid. Mom and dad hadn't wanted her distracting herself with that…but it was ok…if Mukai wanted to play a little.

She was two…it couldn't have possibly hurt her that badly.

"Not a phone." Said Mukai. Oh, good, she had conjugated on her own. Tsuchiya wished that she had recorded that not just because Mukai was getting better at speaking, no, because of how completely perplexed she was at the Gameboy in her hands. She was turning it around and around and tapping the screen and the buttons…Shigeko was recording it….

She wondered if Shigeko would have been willing to put aside whatever all of this anger was and send her the recording.

"No….it-it's a Gameboy…Little Miss Suzuki. Here…um….let me show you how that works." Said Serizawa. Shigeko picked Mukai up and held her in her lap. She tugged on Shigeko's braid but she didn't seem to mind. Serizawa reached over and turned his Gameboy on…oh. His given name was Katsuya…unless someone else had written their name on the back of that Gameboy. There was a whole message….'if found please return to Serizawa Katsuya 1313 Rye Bread Street' written in tiny, slanted handwriting.

"Mine. I play. Please and thank you." Said Mukai. Tsuchiya could hear…bomberman? She knew that game a least…a little advanced for Mukai…but she seemed to be having fun. Well she did once she figured out that touching the screen did nothing. She was so cute then…and she was so happy…and that was really all that Tsuchiya wanted for her daughter.

This was a good morning to be Mukai.

She was happy. She was sitting on her sister's lap and…well Tsuchiya doubted that she was winning….but she was having fun. Sure she didn't really need the screen time…but she was happy. She was happy and she was adjusting to life with her siblings and their…the various adults in their lives. Half of the adults here were alright…and the ones that weren't were off doing their own thing so that was ok. Mukai was happy, she was having fun, and that was….well it was a positive and that was what you did. You had to accentuate the positive. This was their second day and….it was alright…so far.

She had no idea what tomorrow would bring, or even the rest of the day, but things were alright for now.