Suzuki Touichirou did not like cats.

He didn't really like animals in general but cats, and also dogs, were the worst. They made a mess, they shed, they made noise, and you had to give them a lot more care than say….a star fish. That was why he had never allowed a single pet into his home back when he'd had a permanent address. Masami had wanted pets, of course, but he had given her children and children were kind of like pets. They were small and noisy and messy, at least when they were toddlers, and if she had wanted he would have given her far more than the two children that they'd had before she left. She hadn't wanted that, though, and at least she hadn't pushed the pet issue once he brought up the babies are like pets argument. She had just said 'fine, Touichirou' and gone to bed…and left him alone with Sho….and that had been that. There hadn't been a single pet in the Suzuki household and that was the way he liked it.

Well that was the way things used to be.

"Hatori. Explain." Said Suzuki as he leaned over Hatori's shoulder. He was looking at something there on his phone. It was a picture of Shigeko holding what looked to be a living, breathing, real life cat. Not a stuffed toy, not a stuffed taxidermy cat, an actual living cat.

Though she might have just borrowed it to use a prop for her internet photography.

"That's Mob's Instagram. She's got it set to public again even though she knows-" said Hatori

"No, I mean explain why my daughter is holding that cat." Said Suzuki

"They got a cat…let me check the comments….they're still deciding on the name." said Hatori

"But…why? I told her no pets. If she wanted a pet then she could have gone to one of those places that lets you sit and play with cats for a fee….God knows she already hemorrhages enough money as it is." Said Suzuki

"I guess she…wanted one? You'd have to ask Mob. I didn't know that they were going to get a cat…and I would have helped pick one out if I'd be there…." said Hatori. His aura pulled inwards there and his face fell. Why he was doing this Suzuki did not know. If he wanted a cat so badly then he could have just gone outside and played with one. This city was infested with stray cats just as all major cities were. Where there were people there were rats and where there were rats there were cats and…maybe the house had gotten infested with rats….

A terrifying thought.

The sort of thought that makes him glad, so glad, that he isn't anywhere near Japan…even though he knows that he must still be surrounded by rats. European rats…which he'd heard were worse than the fat brown ones he'd seen when he'd been a child. Those had been almost friendly…but still terrifying…and if you got too close they tried to climb up your pant leg…and then your father couldn't bear to look at you because you'd had the nerve to cry….even though the most vile creature in existence had just tried to climb you like a tree….

He'd rather take the cats above the rats any day.

"….like cats. I mean I like dogs more but cats are easier to take care of then dogs. I didn't even know that we could have pets. I mean we couldn't when I lived in the bases but in the house…I mean I would have liked to have had a say. Is it so hard to pick up a phone and send me a text? Just a little 'hey Hatori, we're getting a cat' and….I mean I'm not going to be gone forever…right? We're going back…right?" asked Hatori. His aura was still pulled in and his eyes were still downcast and he was still pulling that long face…he was sad. Suzuki wasn't the best at reading facial expressions but he did know auras and that was one sad aura….

And he did not need to deal with Hatori when he got emotional like this.

Maybe it would have been different if he had been a woman. Women were emotional beings, well they could show it at least. Boys don't cry, ever, for any reason. Mother and father had both told him that…not that he had many recollections of losing control of himself so badly as a child that he cried. He had always had very good emotional control. He'd had no choice. Mother and father had been right to instill that in him from a young age…and he should have done more for both Sho and Shigeko in that regard. Sho…no matter how many times he was punished he just didn't learn and Shigeko….well she was female so the rules were different for her. Those were the sorts of things that Masami would have known…but she was gone now and…and…

And at least they hadn't gotten a cat…back when they'd been together.

"I mean that's just what friends do? I just…I don't know. We've just been gone for a while and it's like….stuff's happening without me, you know? I mean I like hanging out with you and all but having a cat is kind of like…I don't know…like we all just had a baby or something but I wasn't there." said Hatori. Suzuki…well he wanted to slap Hatori upside the head so he'd shut his mouth already….but Hatori was fragile…and also not his son. He didn't have to correct Hatori like that…he wanted to…but he didn't want to put forth the effort…and also….well…

He might have accidentally killed him.

"Stop it." Said Suzuki. There. That was better. He was still in a 'hit something until it dies' sort of mood. Fukuda…was still…wherever he had found himself and Suzuki knew that Hatori could have found him, unless of course Fukuda had taken some disappearing lessons from Masami, but he just…he knew that if he found Fukuda then he was going to accidentally beat him to death….or maybe just pull him close and…no, murder was winning out over…whatever the urge to kiss him could be called…and he didn't want to murder Fukuda. That would have been too permanent. He didn't want him gone forever…just until Suzuki could stand the sight of him again…

And he had no idea when that would be so he was closing that subject with himself now.

"What?" asked Hatori. He jumped there, actually jumped. The whole couch moved. He still had mood swings even at his age…maybe he still had that disorder that made him hide in small places whenever he felt threatened. Suzuki had no idea what there even was to feel threatened about. It wasn't like he was going to let any harm come to Hatori. Of course he was going to protect his best friend.

"Stop feeling sad. I don't understand what's upsetting you so stop feeling however it is that you are feeling right now. It's annoying." Said Suzuki

"I'm sorry I just…well you know how it is when you're with someone for a while and then you're not." Said Hatori. He looked up at Suzuki and…he had no idea what he meant. Yes. He had been apart from people before…but it wasn't like he needed anyone….well aside from Shigeko. There was a wistful feeling when he thought of her…of how long it had been…of how they had parted. It was the same wistful feeling he had gotten whenever he had been away from Masami for long periods of time…though he had always been able to exorcise that feeling by remembering the simple fact that he would be with her again eventually…

He had no such assurances when it came to Shigeko.

"No, not really. Aside from being away from my daughter…but you have no idea how that feels. You aren't a father yet. You and Shibata haven't even begun your relationship let alone spoken on the subject of children." Said Suzuki. There. This would get Hatori off of…whatever all of that had been. Hatori, for some reason, didn't like to talk about his romantic life. Suzuki had no idea why. People were meant to pair up…and Hatori was meant to pair up with Shibata.

It made perfect sense.

Hatori was someone small who Shibata could nurture. Suzuki had noticed that Shibata was a very nurturing sort of person, like a woman, and that balanced out Hatori's need to be cared for. On his own he couldn't survive. Hatori needed someone to care for him and Shibata could do that. Therefore they were meant to be. Suzuki wasn't sure how it would work out sexually, the difference in size between the two of them, but he knew Hatori and he wouldn't let something as trivial as sex get in the way of what was best for him. Also without the need for reproduction they didn't even have to have sex. Since they were both the same sex it wasn't like they were missing out on anything since they could just take care of themselves. Though Hatori wasn't always the best at knowing what was good for him…..

Maybe he could lock them in a room and they couldn't come out until they agreed to a relationship….thought with as strong as Shibata was it would have had to have been a pretty strong lock…he'd have to put a pin in this.

"Shibata and I…that's….we work together. It would probably end up being awkward." Said Hatori

"Oh….I suppose that makes sense…..though it doesn't seem to make things awkward between Shimazaki and Minegishi." Said Suzuki

"….Shimazaki eats candles." Said Hatori

"You make a good point." Said Suzuki

"Why are you so interested in me getting a boyfriend anyway? If you want more espers then you should be talking to Shimazaki and Minegishi? Or hoping that Mob finds a boyfriend." Said Hatori. He may have heard Hatori say something after that…but he couldn't focus. Mob…that was what they called Shigeko for some reason…and boyfriend…well that meant a boy she was seeing in a romantic capacity. A boy…his daughter…a boy….

He couldn't breathe.

"…..Nozomu….does my daughter have a boyfriend? Speak honestly…or else." Said Suzuki. He forced air into his lungs. He forced air out of his lungs. He had to breathe. He had to breathe and…and he had to get back to Japan. He didn't care that he'd been banished. He didn't care that Shigeko had called him by his given name and thrown him out of the house and out of her life. He didn't care about anything other than the fact that some boy…some pathetic, over sexed, hormonal, adolescent had the nerve to even begin to think that he could put his filthy hands…and other body parts too…anywhere near HIS DAUGHTER-

A thought.

Maybe not a boy. Maybe a man. Shigeko…she did tend to…well when she did have feelings for someone she tended to go for older men. Like Hatori…well he was alright. If he hadn't been a homosexual then he would have been alright for Shigeko. He didn't have the ability to survive on his own, he seemed to have little to no interest in sex, and Suzuki didn't mind his company….but Shigeko didn't like him like that anymore. No, her romantic feelings were for…well he had no idea…but they could have been for someone like Shimazaki…she'd had feelings for him before…and now….well those feelings could come back and…

And he had some holes to dig.

Man or boy…they were going in a hole. He would dig it himself just to make sure that it was deep enough…and he'd make the sides smooth as glass so there was no way to get out….and he wouldn't drop any food or water down there….a nice slow death…for thinking that…well maybe that was too labor intensive. He did have people for this after all…but if you wanted something done right then you had to do it yourself….and he would have to do it himself. He knew what men were like, he was a man, and he knew what boys were like, he had been a boy. He knew the thoughts that he'd had about girls his own age…and he knew the thoughts that he had about women his own age…

And anyone who had those sorts of thoughts about Shigeko was going to be turned inside out through their eye sockets.

"Um….probably not? I feel like she would have posted about him…and also she doesn't really know any guys her own age besides her brother….so…probably not…" said Hatori

"Alright. I believe you…but if she ever does get a boyfriend tell me. This is high priority. I don't care if you have to wake me up at three in the morning or get me out of the bath or…whatever else I would be doing where I don't want to be disturbed. If Shigeko gets a boyfriend I want to be disturbed." Said Suzuki

"You want to be disturbed. Got it, boss." Said Hatori. He was smiling a little there…and this was no time to smile! Shigeko was out there in the world unprotected and…and there were men and boys who would be interested in her…and he wasn't there to protect her! He needed to be there because she was so small and innocent and she had no idea what men and boys wanted from her….the terrible thoughts they must have been thinking….she couldn't comprehend of such things….the world grew more dangerous. The world had always been this dangerous…and…and Hatori was LAUGHING?!

"Why are you doing that? How can you laugh at a time like this? This is serious!" said Suzuki

"What? That Mob got a cat?" asked Hatori

"No, no, I don't care about that anymore. I hate pets but I don't live there anymore and it's not like a cat can do her any harm…also Shiori has cats so they aren't that bad-" said Suzuki. He bit his tongue. That had been a slip of the tongue so he had to bite it…and then maybe he would learn to be more careful when he spoke. Maybe Hatori wouldn't notice…maybe there was hope…

Of course he noticed. He was more perceptive and intelligent than he let on.

"Shiori?" asked Hatori. No. No. Suzuki….he was not going to explain this to Hatori. If he told Hatori who Shiori was to him…well he had no idea what to even call her. A former sexual partner? A perspective sexual partner? A friend? Someone who could make his heart feel like it was going to explode with only a few strings of text? A cat owner? A starfish enthusiastic? An amateur gardener? A lover of the color green? A lover of his?

"She's no one…an associate. Anyway-" said Suzuki with a wave of his hand. Fukuda would have known what that meant. He would have known to drop it…but Hatori was not Fukuda…and Suzuki took back everything that he had ever said about Hatori being intelligent and perceptive.

"Wait, I remember. That girl you had me Facebook stalk for you. Do you still talk to her-" said Hatori

"Who I do and do not correspond with is none of your concern." Said Suzuki

"But Mob getting a cat is?" asked Hatori

"No, Shigeko finding a boyfriend is very concerning. You may be a homosexual but you do have a sex drive…at least I assume you do. You never show interest in any of the men around you but judging by what I've seen of your aura and heard-" said Suzuki

"What?!" asked Hatori. His voice should have been done changing…he needed to see someone about that. Also about the constant anxiety he felt. That was not normal. He maybe needed some kind of doctor for that. He had nothing to be anxious about. It wasn't like he had an empire to run, a world to eventually rule, and a daughter who could possibly have had a….boyfriend…out there thinking about doing terrible things to her….planning how he would take advantage of her…no. Hatori had nothing to be anxious about…and if he was anxious about the fact that he woke Suzuki up on a nightly basis then maybe he should have been more discreet.

And also given it a rest, too, because really too much of that hampered your desire to find a partner…and also blisters were a concern.

"You're not very discreet." Said Suzuki

"And you didn't say anything? Why didn't you say anything?" asked Hatori. He pulled his sweater up above his eyes…he was hiding. No. Suzuki was not going to deal with him when he started hiding.

"You wanted me to address it? I…do not like addressing those sorts of things. I prefer to just roll over and try my best to get back to sleep….and at least you're quieter than Tadashi….he's always known that I am in no way a deep sleeper….I'm not, by the way, and the walls are very thin-" said Suzuki

"So you were worried about Mob getting a boyfriend?" asked Hatori. His voice broke there, too, and maybe his anxiety disorder was somehow related to the fact that even at the age of twenty one he still wasn't done with puberty. That was a thought…and also a valid reason to feel anxious…though not as valid a reason as Suzuki had…and it was alright to feel anxious here. He wasn't going to lose control…because he was in control of this situation. All he had to do was find this boy and end him…there. Simple.

"Yes. Incredibly so. So much so that I would ever go back to Japan to personally murder him myself." Said Suzuki. Maybe he should not have admitted that to Hatori. Hatori did look to him for protection and safety….and he must have been terribly anxious now. Suzuki had just admitted that there was something that he feared…and he was never to admit that to anyone. He was weak and…and he hadn't even admitted his fears to Masami. When Sho had been small and he had been in danger of sudden infant death syndrome…when he had lost part of Claw because Sho's birth had distracted him so much…the times when he'd gotten hurt and he'd had to send for Tadashi and wait…the times when he would see something pass between Tadashi and Masami and…and he knew that he had been losing his mind.

The things he feared were personal and…and now he looked weak and Hatori must have thought…well who the hell cared what Hatori thought? This was Hatori.

"Wait…murder?" asked Hatori

"Yes. We were both her age once…and you may have been different because you're a homosexual but I am heterosexual and the thoughts which I had about girls at that age….I am very ashamed of myself….and I am ashamed of myself for the thoughts that I have about women…and I cannot stand the thought of a boy, or a man, thinking of my Daughter in that way…or attempting to use her for his own selfish, defiling, disgusting, ends." Said Suzuki

"...but didn't you say that you wanted grandkids?" asked Hatori

"I do." Said Suzuki

"But then how is she going to get grandkids if she's not allowed to have a boyfriend?" asked Hatori. Suzuki took back any and every doubt that he'd ever had regarding Hatori's intelligence. He…well…he had a point. Suzuki did want grandchildren…and he knew that Shigeko was human and women were very much like men in that regard…not as disgusting though. What women wanted was romance, love, children, marriage, the stuff of Disney animated films. Shigeko….she had always wanted those things…and putting up with some man had always just been the unfortunate…whatever…that had come with it…but there had to have been a way to remove the need for a man from the equation…

Of course!

"Sperm bank. Like what single women do when they want to have children…and lesbians too I suppose. Do you think that she might be a homosexual? Because that would be the best scenario possible." Said Suzuki. If she had been a lesbian then instead of having to put up with a son in law he could have just had two daughters…yes. That was the best possible….well no. Not needing anyone, just the two of them, and her children…that was the best possible scenario….yes. The best. Just him and her and her children…their children since he would be raising them with her…well that had been their plan anyway…before all of this. Before she had banished him from his own family.

He exorcised the thoughts and the emotions that came with those terrible….terrible thoughts.

"No, I'm pretty sure that she's straight…but maybe you should just keep all of this sperm bank and….boyfriend killing…stuff to yourself. It might freak her out. I mean it's freaking me out." Said Hatori

"You have an anxiety disorder." Said Suzuki with a wave of his hand. He knew what the gesture meant. He was being dismissive. He was being dismissive and he just…he needed this conversation to end…right now. It was annoying. He was annoyed. Yes, that was what this was…annoyance. A hell of a lot of annoyance.

"You think?" asked Hatori

"Yes. Go to a doctor. It's annoying. You're annoying….and tell Shigeko no more pets." Said Suzuki. There. The conversation was closed. He did not like cats so she could not have a cat…and he did not like the idea of her having a boyfriend so she could not have a boyfriend…and he did not like being apart from her but…but they had to be…because she didn't want him anymore…but she was still his daughter. She was still Shigeko and he was still her father and…and he could have come back…if there was an emergency…

A cat was not an emergency.

A boyfriend…now that was an emergency…but a cat was an annoying animal and…and it wasn't like he lived there anyway. She lived there and he lived her and…and it wasn't like he had to deal with it so….so this was fine. She had always wanted a cat, well both the children had always wanted a pet, and it wasn't like he had to deal with it…so this was fine…more fine than when Masami had wanted one…and maybe if he had let her have one then she might have…stayed…for the sake of the animal. She wouldn't have wanted to hurt the children by stealing it from them….though she didn't seem to care much for their children at all. She loved animals….and she should have been there to care for the cat…and she should have been there to watch Shigeko…to protect her from boys and what they would want for her…but she wasn't there…only Suzuki was….but he wasn't there anymore and…and….

At least it was only a cat.