Minegishi did not consider themselves to be particularly sentimental.

If they had asked themselves, five years ago, if they were even the smallest bit sentimental they would have looked at themselves and thought that they had finally lost their mind. They had never had anything to be sentimental over…but that was different now. They had something, well someone, to be sentimental over. Well more like two someone's….

Or three.

"Stickers…phone stickers….over there." said Mukai as she tried to peel the stickers off of their phone. Minegishi sat up and raised their arms above their head. This was not one of those people that they felt sentimental over…even if they had known her when she had been a baby. She had been cute back then…a cute little screaming vomit machine. Now she was a cute little screaming future thief. She was trying to snatch their phone out of their hand now.

No way were they letting her get a second brand new phone.

"Mob! Get your sister out of here!" shouted Minegishi. They heard Mob's footsteps coming in from the kitchen. Apparently hamsters needed home cooked meals…of pancakes. The whole house smelled like pancakes. Minegishi was getting sick of the smell of pancakes. That was all the kids would eat. Breakfast every single day, sometimes lunch, and dinner too if Tsuchiya hadn't put her foot down about basic nutrition.

Now if only she could put her foot down about her daughter's constant stealing.

"Mukai, no, that's not yours. Come on, let's see if one of the hamsters is awake." Said Mob as she pulled Mukai away by the hands. The little former vomit machine, of course, struggled the whole time. Well that served her right. If she hadn't been such a little phone thief, or if her mother watched her for more than five seconds every so often, then maybe Minegishi would have at least tolerated her prescience for more than small one second intervals every second Tuesday of every even numbered month.

"Ham-ham!" shouted Mukai, her voice carrying as Mob helped her up the stairs. Person number one of their list of things they got sentimental over. Mob, the kid who wasn't their kid but might as well have been. Mob their twelve year old best friend. Mob the caretaker to this group of rouge idiots they called their friends. Minegishi closed their eyes and slumped back down on the couch. They needed to get back to bed. They needed to lay down and read or listen to something…not sleep, though, because Ryou was starting to worry. It was never a good sign when Ryou started to worry about things…even though they had everything under control. Things had just been a little bit stressful lately.

Story of their life.

"I don't know if he's up yet...no! Mukai, no, be careful of the tunnels. Sho worked really hard on this." said Mob. Judging by the sound of their footsteps they had made it to the top of the stairs. They wondered if Suzuki specifically chose houses where the sound carried like a fucking cathedral. Their house, Mob's house, maybe that other Claw house that Fukuda had lived in before…it was so fucking loud.

Or maybe that was just the headache.

They'd had a perpetual headache since they couldn't even remember when. Sometimes it felt like everything that weighed on their mind literally weighed on their mind. Like it took up residence in their skull and pressed down, constantly, the weight of it compressing their mind more and more each day until it felt like their skull was about to burst. They were like a water balloon with a brick on top and the slightest movement could send them into-

-something hit them over the head.

They opened their eyes…and saw black. No, black tinged light. There was something over their head…they pulled it down. A black blanket with glittery silver stars stitched into it. They sensed another aura close by and turned to the left. There had been some orange out the corner of their eye…yup. Tsuchiya. That same orange jumpsuit thing she always wore. Her arms full of toys. She made eye contact with them.

And broke it first.

Which was good. There was too much light out here. Too much light made the baby go blind. Maybe for Mukai's sake someone should have closed the blinds, drew the curtains, or maybe just boarded up the windows. Why was there so much light out today? Cloud. They needed clouds. Thick, heavy, rain clouds that could block out the sun…for the baby's sake…and maybe theirs too. The world just had too much light in it today.

The dark glare Tsuchiya was giving them did nothing for the unrelenting force of the sun.

"Don't you have sleeping to do?" asked Tsuchiya. She was glaring at them like they had spat on her mother's grave. Well they hadn't. That was some Ryou shit. They hadn't done a damn thing to her, not that they could remember anyway, and if anything they should have been thanking her. They had helped keep Mukai alive the first time that Suzuki had dumped her on Mob and fucked off to parts unknown. A thank you was in order.

Or some stony silence, that worked too.

"If you're going to sleep then you should do it in your own house." Said Tsuchiya. She had broken the glare first. Minegishi had won the staring contest. If they had been fifteen years younger then they would have savored their victory. Now they were too tired to savor anything.

"What do you care?" said Minegishi

"Well for one thing you just kicked my daughter out of her own living room." Said Tsuchiya

"Your daughter was trying to steal my phone. I already lost one phone to her and I don't feel like losing another. Going to the phone store is such a pain in the ass." Said Minegishi

"Well you'd know a thing or two about that now wouldn't you." Said Tsuchiya

"For the love of…what did I ever do to you? What is your problem with me? Come on, let's just get everything out in open already. I'm tired as all else and my head is killing me." Said Minegishi

"Well aside from the fact that you taught a twelve year old to drink and smoke-" said Tsuchiya. Minegishi, if they had been feeling better, would have…well they would have done something very violent that Mob would not have approved of. They could still hear her upstairs…they were not going to be doing anything stupid any time soon.

"It was a bad time in Mob's life…and anyway I don't have to explain myself to you." Said Minegishi. Before they had even gotten the first syllable out they knew how their argument in favor of Mob's budding, or already budded and ready to bloom, substance abuse issues was. There was no excuse…but in their defense they hadn't planned this far into the future and Mob's life had been pretty shitty back then…even worse than it was now. At least now she didn't have to deal with Suzuki. No, now she just had her secret sister to take care of in addition to the usual group of morons and now one cat and six hamsters as well. Mob's life…was not a good one…and it had only been one capful of vodka…a turn or two at their joint…a cigarette here and there…they hadn't seen it going this far…

Well they had, they just hadn't done anything to stop it.

This had all been a problem for future Toshiki. Well not future Toshiki was present Toshiki and present Toshiki had no idea how they were even going to begin to get Mob to stop with all of this…so this was just going to have to a problem for even farther into the future Toshiki. Mid-twenties Toshiki was passing this over to late-twenties Toshiki and late-twenties Toshiki was going to pass this over to ealy-thirties Toshiki…

Maybe mid-thirties Toshiki would have a solution to the problem that they had caused…or maybe this would just be a job for early-forties Toshiki…if they managed to live that long.

"Bad time in her….you know what? That isn't even what I'm so pissed at you for right now…but that's still just…what even is that?" asked Tsuchiya

"A series of words in Japanese." Said Minegishi sarcastically. She thought that she could take the moral high ground? Her of all people. She worked in the same facility that made and trained Awakened. Minegishi knew what it took to make an Awakened. Torture, brainwashing, and indoctrination into this cult. Nobody in the house had any right to be throwing stones.

"Cute." Said Tsuchiya

"Thanks but you're not my type." Said Minegishi with a wave of their hand. They weren't being sarcastic, she really wasn't. They weren't into single parents, people with kids, and people who liked to turn their noses up at others. This was Claw. If they had wanted people to look down on them then they would have stayed a florist.

"I wouldn't want to be. I've seen who you treat people who are your type." Said Tsuchiya. Minegishi rolled their eyes. Really? It was one thing to bring up how they had fucked up with Mob but it was another to bring up how they were fucking up with Ryou. Person number two who could make them feel sentimental. Ryou who had been there since they joined Claw. Ryou who was just about the only person, at first, who they had gotten along with. Ryou who had done something stupid like fall in love with them. Ryou who had been so stupid, so annoying, so genuine, so honest, so thoughtful, and so…him…that he had made them fall in love right back. Ryou who had nothing better to do with his stupid, annoying, genuine, honest, thoughtful self that he stolen a waffle maker and almost burnt the entire house down with his honest, thoughtful, annoying, genuine stupidity. Shimazaki Ryou…the person who they loved most in this world…romantically. The person who could drive them insane. The person who…who brought out the best and the worst of them.

They shouldn't have yelled at him.

At the time it had seemed like the right thing to do. Nobody wanted to wake up to a house that smelled like burning caramels. Nobody wanted to wake up end of discussion. Why wake up when sleep was there. They hadn't been thinking when they yelled at him…and they hadn't been thinking of all the things that they had been saying. Their mouth had run away with them…but things were fine. Ryou was fine. He was just out getting more shit for the hamsters with Sho. It wasn't like he was pissed at them. It wasn't like they had gone and ruined what they had with him.

It wasn't like history was repeating its self.

They always took whatever good was in their life and ruined it. Not even relationships, though they had ruined plenty of those. They had ruined what they had with Mob and now they were ruining what they had with Ryou. That was why they were, a ruiner, they were their own worst enemy. Maybe they wanted things to go back to the way they were before….and maybe the thought of things going back to the way they were before terrifies them. Maybe they've gotten sentimental over the smell of Ryou in their bed every morning when they got up. Maybe they had gotten sentimental over finding his socks mixed in with theirs. Maybe they had gotten sentimental over stepping on empty pudding cups every time they got out of bed. Maybe they had gotten sentimental over the chewed up candles they found under his pillow sometimes. Maybe they were even sentimental about hearing the same three albums every single day. Maybe he had made them sentimental…and maybe they were fucking up another good thing in their life…

And maybe this wasn't any of Tsuchiya's god damned, mother fucking business.

"For the love of…Ryou and I were not fighting. We were having a disagreement. He seems to think that melting caramels in the waffle maker is an acceptable way to make breakfast. I disagree. He did it anyway and now our house smells like burning caramel and Shibata is channeling the rage he's feeling into either a sweater for three people or a blanket with sleeves. I can't tell yet." Said Minegishi

"What the…no. This isn't about the fucking waffle maker. This is about you jerking Matsuo around." Said Tsuchiya. For the love of…if she had such a thing for him then she needed to confess or something because they could not deal with this jealousy or whatever any longer. That was the only explanation. Tsuchiya was into Matsuo and, obviously, thought that Minegishi and him were more than…whatever they were right now.

Less than a relationship but more than two people who hooked up at a work party.

He was…honest. He was honest and funny and, yeah, his decorating skills were questionable but that just added to him. Also he never said 'I love you' and never asked for more than they were ready to give. They...well he was one of the few people that could make them sentimental. Person number three. Stickers…movie posters…empty pills bottles…those weird figurines with the square heads and beady little eyes. They saw him in all of those things…and they liked it. To take a word from Mob's vocabulary they liked him. They were in a hell of a lot of like with him…not as much as with Ryou…and they had enough to deal with then it came to him and his jealousy. They did not need to add Tsuchiya's jealousy to the jealousy stew…chowder…more than a soup but less than a stew…they were hungry. They were hungry and they were tired and they just wanted this to be done with.

But, of course, nothing was ever done with. It just weighed on them like everything else in life did.

"You have nothing better to do with your life than thing about me-" said Minegishi. They knew what Tsuchiya meant…but they also knew that acting like a middle schooler right now might be the thing that got her to go the fuck away already. She really needed to just go out, get a ring, and confess to Matsuo already. At least then everything would be out in the open and Minegishi wouldn't have to deal with any of this anymore.

"What are you, ten? You know what I meant." Said Tsuchiya

"Fine. I'll go back to being twenty nine…and no. I have not been jerking him around in any sense of the word." Said Minegishi

"Bullshit." Said Tsuchiya

"Language. There are children in the house." Said Minegishi

"Yeah, and I'm looking at one. Honestly. I have no idea how you could treat Matsuo like that. He doesn't need this, you know, he's had a hard enough life as it is without you promising him things that obviously you aren't going to give." Said Tsuchiya.

"Excuse me?" asked Minegishi. They had more that they could say, a lot more, but they could hear Mob and Mukai coming down the stairs and they did not want to contribute to Mukai's already way too colorful vocabulary. They had just gotten through the last round of 'fuck yous', thank you Sho, they weren't up for another one. They were barely up for being up.

"You know what you did." Said Tsuchiya

"Stop with that passive aggressive shit. If I knew what you were so upset about then I wouldn't have asked. My head is killing me right now, I'm exhausted, and I'd like to know what you think that you know…and also I'd like to know where, exactly, you get off digging into my relationship…relationships. None of this is any of your business. If you're so into him then you need to confess and stop-" said Minegishi

"I am not into him….and you…how do you not know what you did. You told Matsuo that you're in love with him." said Tsuchiya. What. What? What! What….? That was a word. That word bounced around in Minegishi's head like a pinball. That was…what? They had never once told Matsuo anything of the sort…and they had never even implied it. He was cute, he was nice, and they liked him. They cared about him in a clothes on sort of way as well as a clothes off sort of way. That wasn't love and…was that why he had been so quiet lately? Their daily texting conversation had been quiet since they lost their phone…and they had just assumed that he was busy. Suzuki had him chasing after some high level spirit…they were asking him…about this…later. Right now they doubted that they could get more than one word out.

And Mob was the one who said it, too.

"What?!" asked Mob. She practically did a running jump onto the couch. The sudden bounced made their brain knock around in their skull. Like a concussion without a concussion. They would have welcome a concussion right now. Nothing sounded better, at this moment, than a nice concussion. Then at least they could imagine that this was some kind of hallucination and not the terrible reality that they were living in.

"What? What? What mama?" asked Mukai. Minegishi heard something hit the ground. A lot of paper had fluttered around. Judging by the pained looks both Tsuchiya and Mukai made it had been something important. Minegishi didn't know. They didn't think that they could turn around. They were stuck, paralyzed, with…whatever this emotion was. Matsuo actually thought…and now…now they had to tell him…they had to tell him that they didn't…

That was why he hadn't gotten back to them in a while.

He didn't feel the same way. They didn't want him to feel the same way….but if that was the case then why did they feel like their heart had been in that pile of whatever that Mukai had just dropped? Matsuo was not their boyfriend, Ryou was their boyfriend, and the only rule in this relationship besides always use protection with other people was that neither of them could fall in love with anyone else. That was more for Ryou's benefit than theirs…he was so jealous sometimes…and…and they weren't in love with Matsuo…

So why did they feel like…whatever this was?

"How can you love him?! You love Shimazaki and-and-and-and he loves you and…and the whole thing is just…you guys are happy! You're the only couple that I've ever met that's happy and…and this is your happily ever after and…and you guys are supposed to be together forever! Why did…why did this happen? How can I fix it? I know, I could-" said Mob. She was going a mile a minute. Minegishi put a hand over her mouth before she gave herself a stroke. Something hit them in the back of the head…oh. An artist's pencil.

"Mukai, no!" said Tsuchiya

"I threw it, mama, I threw it!" laughed Mukai. Minegishi wasn't in the mood to deal with her right now. They were barely in the mood to deal with Mob. They could barely keep their eyes opened. They needed to lay down. They wanted to pull that blanket up over their head and close their eyes and wake up once all of this had passed. Too much. This was all too much.

"Do something about your daughter…and stay the hell out of my business." Said Minegishi

"I'll stay out of business when you stop messing with my friend…and I'll let Mukai throw something at you just this once. You deserve it." Said Tsuchiya. They rolled their eyes. Tsuchiya was trying to glare holes through them…but they'd been through worse. All they could do was roll their eyes and not let her, or anyone, know what any of this…was. How they felt. They pulled up their draw bridge and closed the gate. They hid everything behind their fortress. A fortress of thorny plants. They…they were not going to be vulnerable right now. They didn't have a choice in the matter.

"Why don't you love Shimazaki anymore? You can tell me." Said Mob as she pulled away from Minegishi's hand. Minegishi…they loved Mob. They loved her so much and…and they were not going to be anything other than nice to her…for them…but they had…well if she had done what they thought that she had done then…well then they might have other words for her. Mob had a habit of being nosy, and inserting herself into other people's business, and she had done this before to her brother…but….no…Mob wouldn't have done something like that…

Right?

"No love, mama, no more love." Said Mukai as she dropped a sketchbook at her mother's feet. Tsuchiya shook her head and picked up the book…only to get another one dropped right at her feet.

"Mukai, stop it. Shigeko, why don't you take her upstairs and put all of these back?" asked Tsuchiya as Mukai dropped another, this time bent, book at Tsuchiya's feet.

"Me and Mukai were going to ask Sho which one of these Mukai could color in…but when he came back…and also this is very sad but I'm going to help Minegishi with this because they're my friend and if I fell out of love with the love of my life I know that they would be there for me." Said Mob

"Shigeko-" said Tsuchiya

"Hey Mob? Can I ask you something?" asked Minegishi

"Asking me if you can ask me something is the same as asking me something…but that's ok. What did you want to ask me? And can I ask you something first?" asked Mob

"No. Now I need you to be one hundred percent truthful with me right now. Mob…do you remember the time you took your brother's phone and tried to fix his relationship?" asked Minegishi

"Yes…and he got mad at me…but what does this have to do with anything? Minegishi, we have to fix this. This is a crisis. This is worse than the time Hatori got too drunk at the Christmas party and broke my heart and asked if he could eat you…which I now know means-" said Mob

"Yes, yes, we all know what he meant." Said Minegishi

"Wait…what?" asked Tsuchiya as she made the confused face to end all confused faces.

"At the first Christmas party Hatori got drunk and-" said Mob

"Ask Hatori if you ever meet him. Mob, let's walk down memory lane another time. Now you need to tell me the truth, the absolute truth, are you the one who took my phone? And did you maybe try and fix-" said Minegishi

"Minegishi! Of course I didn't take your phone….and…and also this isn't fixing anything! I would never put you together with Matsuo. You love Shimazaki and he loves you and…and that's how it's supposed to be." Said Mob. Minegishi…knew Mob. They knew that she didn't really lie…but they also knew that she did things that only sounded like good ideas in her head.

"Phone?" asked Mukai as she pulled another phone out of her overalls. That…was not Minegishi's phone. Their old new one or their current new one. They almost wished that she had been the one who had it. There was a lot there that they couldn't replace. Not everything was in the cloud and…and also that case had been a gift…

They could not be sentimental right now.

"Mukai…why do you keep doing this?" asked Tsuchiya

"Because you're not watching her and Mob…well Mob doesn't need anyone else to watch. Now why don't you go and see about finding and replacing everything that she took while Mob and I have a long conversation about staying out of my phone." Said Minegishi

"I didn't take it, honest, and even if I did then I would have told Shimazaki that you love him…and…and I think that we should find a nice way to tell Matsuo that you don't love him and you never will love him…like…a way to tell him that without breaking his heart." Said Mob

"Mob…I believe you." Said Minegishi. She hadn't done this. She was fully on team Ryou…and now there were teams for some reason. Mob would never have done anything to mess with the only happily ever after that she had ever seen in her life. So now they had no suspects….unless they had blacked out and done something stupid…but they hadn't blacked out in a while. Sure they took long naps and woke up in weird places…but that wasn't blacking out…and ok they had gaps in their memory…

They were their own worst enemy.

"Good. Alright now we just have to-" said Mob

"Wait, no, I'm confused. So you think that-" said Tsuchiya as Mukai tugged on the leg of her pants.

"Mama, color, now please and thank you!" said Mukai as she pointed to the stack of sketchbooks on the coffee table. Minegishi decided to ruin Tsuchiya's hard work and take one from the middle. They handed Mukai the sketchbook and pointed at her.

"Go away now. Please and thank you." Said Minegishi. Mukai seemed content to wander off…but everyone else was content to stop her. Mob held her in place with her powers and Tsuchiya practically ripped the sketchbook out of her hands….and then the screaming started. The shrillest screaming that Minegishi had ever heard. They'd had no idea that it was even possible for a human being to make a noise like that…but there she went.

"Mob…can you please shut her up?" asked Minegishi as they closed their eyes and covered their ears.

"Um…not really. She's really upset and when she gets like this she just has to tire herself out…and also you didn't know this but Sho only lets her draw on specific pages of specific sketchbooks and he'll be mad if I just gave it to her to color in…so I won't give that back to her even though it might make her stop." Said Mob

"You just said that there was no way to shut her up. Obviously there is. Now do the thing that's going to shut her up and worry about your brother later." Said Minegishi. They reached for the stack of sketchbooks but Tsuchiya beat them to it. They reached forward as she pushed the sketchbooks further back…and clutched the one that she had been flipping through to her chest. She was pale, like she'd seen a ghost, and hell she might have. Minegishi had never been that sensitive to spirits after all. They totally would have believed that Tsuchiya had seen a ghost…though of course they knew that it probably wasn't ghosts that had her all freaked out.

"Nobody's looking in this sketchbook, ever…and I mean ever. Shigeko…you have got to keep your…private sketchbooks…to yourself. Mukai may be too little to know what she was looking at but I'm not." Said Tsuchiya as she handed the sketchbook over to Mob. She opened it before Minegishi could intercept it. Minegishi snatched it away but not before the stack of boxes against the far wall toppled over. Mukai shrieked and ran away. Good. Minegishi didn't want to have to explain to her what Sho had seen fit to draw…

…and very accurately, too.

"….I didn't draw this. I don't know how to draw. Sho drew this…." said Mob. She had one hell of a thousand yard stare…and Minegishi didn't blame her. This was…they kept on flipping. This was…accurate…and…detailed. Almost like it had been drawn from life…and this had better not have been drawn from life! First of all that would have been beyond weird…and second of all Ryou knew better than to encourage him…and third of all whatever weirdness they knew he had brewing in his head with Mob was bad enough but Sho…just….

This had better not have been drawn from life…but then…what else?

"Oh. Well…the same to him…if he ever comes home." Said Tsuchiya. For once she and Minegishi were on the same page as something. This sketchbook was nothing but Ryou…naked Ryou…naked detailed Ryou. Sho really was one of the great artists in the world. He really had a future there….yup. A real future. That was…yeah…

Yeah.

Just…yeah. They kept on flipping, more out of macabre interest than anything. These were definitely drawn from life. He had gotten Shimazaki's dick tattoo perfect…when he drew it. Some of these didn't have it, some of these just had the original one which was just his condom size next to the base of it, and some of these had the whole thing…they flipped again. That tattoo had actually been done in multiple sessions. One for the text up above it, once for the dragon tattooed on the side, and once for the heart at the head of it…and…stages. They could see not only the tattoo but the stages it had been done in and…and the heart had come last and as an afterthought…and….and that was just…that came later and…

They could make a timeline out of these.

"Minegishi…why are you still looking?" asked Mob. She had her hands over her eyes…and her fingers opened. Minegishi pulled the sketchbook close. Mob…well she didn't need to see that. If she wanted to see it when she grew up and Minegishi was six feet under with a tree planted over their body then that was fine. Right now, though, she was twelve and this was weird enough as it was because of her brother's sexual awakening….they did not need to add to Mob's sexual awakening to this too.

"I'm trying to see-" said Minegishi

"You're his boyfriend! You can his…that…whenever you want to!" said Mob. She sounded like she had discovered a new level of embarrassed….poor Mob….and poor them too! Poor everyone in this fucked up situation.

"I'm trying to see how he could have drawn these." Said Minegishi

"Obviously he used his imagination-" said Tsuchiya

"No. He got Ryou's dick tattoo right. The heart, the dragon, the text that I'm glad he let get overgrown, and his condom size too. It's all here." Said Minegishi. They knew that there was a timeline here…and they knew these….scenes….too. Ryou trying to be sexy. Ryou on his side, his back, Ryou…this one was a comic and…and….what in the…this was….how much I missed you…they remembered this…this was…but how could…how could he…

THAT LITTLE THIEF!

"Why does he have…any of that?" asked Tsuchiya

"Shimazaki likes tattoos…um….Minegishi? Why are you….mad?" asked Mob. Minegishi was holding the sketchbook with both hands…their knuckles had turned white. They tried to let go. They tried to let good the sketchbook and their anger and…and all of this…this was…they drew their legs up to their chest. Exposed. Naked. Vulnerable. This was…they just…they needed to…they needed to go…they needed to get out of here…they needed….

They needed to go to bed.

"Minegishi…Toshiki? Are you…ok?" asked Tsuchiya. She reached down…Minegishi flinched. She pulled her hand away. Good. If there had been plants in the room then they shuddered to think of what could have happened. Mob was looking at them. They closed their eyes. They just had to wait for this to pass. This was going to pass. Everything passed….but not for them.

No, everything always ended up weighing on them.

"Minegishi…" said Mob. They didn't flinch away from her. She put her hand on their shoulder. They took a deep breath and opened their eyes. Right. They had no reason to freak out…well they did…and they didn't. Sho had only drawn Ryou which meant that he had only seen Ryou…but those were theirs and theirs alone…and…and they had other pictures in that phone and…and he might have…this was just…

That little boy was going to die.

And soon if the shift in the energy around them was to be trusted. There was a shift in the energy around them and then two auras. One which they never wanted to see again and one which…was all around them. Before they had even had a chance to see him Ryou had teleported beside them. He was holding them, now, and Mob was on the floor. She was covering her eyes again, her fingers still opened though. Tsuchiya took one look at Ryou before turning red and shuffling away as fast as she could. She trampled one of the many toys on the floor. She either didn't notice or didn't care.

Minegishi couldn't blame her.

"Toshi, what's wrong? Come on, talk to me." Said Ryou as he held them close. They closed their eyes and rested their head on his shoulder. He smelled like a pet store. He was sticky with what must have been a layer of sweat. His hair hung limply in their eyes. His coat was burning hot from being in the sun. They didn't care. They were just happy to be near him. They got the feeling that if he was there then they were going to be ok…even though they knew that this had nothing to do with them…or at least very little. Sho may or may not have seen….things he should not have seen…but it was Ryou that he had drawn. It was Ryou that he had definitely seen and…and Ryou had let them record all of that for their use…and….and he hadn't meant for that to be shared…and Minegishi of course did not have any claim at all over his body…

So then why did they feel like they were the one who'd had an eleven year old boy fill a sketchbook with copies of their various naked pictures?

"Come on, leave them alone. They're just tired and…why's everyone looking at me?" asked Sho. Minegishi wasn't looking at him, no, they were glaring at him. Mob was staring and they were glaring. They…if that hadn't been a child…and if there had been some plants in the house then Sho would have been hanging inside out from the ceiling. That little…that little…they didn't have a word bad enough to even begin to describe how they…they felt…and…and…

And they didn't use their words.

They took the sketchbook from their lap and tossed it at him. It hit the floor and opened up to an image that was, of course, not family friendly. Mob gasped and pulled her t-shirt over her head. Sho screamed and dove to the ground. Good. Minegishi hoped that he hurt himself. They hoped that he fell and broke every single bone in his body. They knew that it was wrong to wish that on a child…but it was also wrong for that child to have stolen their phone, gone looking through it, and copied what he'd seen!

That little…little…they didn't even know what….

"Where did you get this?!" screamed Sho. He screamed like someone was shoving bamboo splinters until his fingernails…yeah. That was something that they could do…well Mob would never have forgiven them…but maybe that was a chance that they needed to take. Sho…this thing was only getting worse and…and he knew that stealing was wrong! Stealing was wrong and they knew that Mob had taught him better than that and…and this was just…Ryou held them closer.

"Mukai fund it in your bed…um…she doesn't know what she saw and-" said Mob

"She shouldn't have seen anything! You haven't seen anything! I-I-I didn't draw this! This wasn't me and…and stop looking at me!" screamed Sho. Minegishi pulled away from Ryou. Their head was killing them. They needed space. They needed…they needed someone to deal with this…someone other than them.

"What are we freaking out over?" asked Ryou as Minegishi pulled away from him. His shirt stuck to them…they needed a bath. They needed a bath and they needed silence and they needed to do damage control and….and most of all they needed a nap. A nap and…well they had been hitting the mint tin a little too hard lately…but this had been one HELL of a day so they earned another bar or two…or three.

"Sho…he drew….he drew…." Said Mob. She was stuttering. Her hands and the tips of her ears were bright red. She was blushing…and Minegishi didn't blame her. That might have been the first time she had ever seen someone who wasn't her brother in that state of affairs….great. Now they had their weirdness to deal with in addition to all of the other shit and the shit they'd already had weighing on their mind. This was just…they needed….they needed this to…

They needed this to end.

"Sho stole my phone and drew an entire sketchbook's worth of your nudes. The ones you let me take. Ryou….this has officially crossed a line and if you don't talk to Sho…and I mean really talk to him…then I will and I guarantee that what I have to say won't be as nice as what you have to say." Said Minegishi. They were going to pick this kid up, look him in the eye, and tell him exactly what he needed to hear. There was no lying to him, no sugarcoating things for him. Ryou was not interested, he would never be interested, and Sho needed to go out and find a boy his own age. Sho was going to get hurt if they talked to him…so Ryou had better get off his ass and do what he should have done years ago.

"I didn't steal-" said Sho

"Sho, please…just…can we all talk about something else!? Right now?!" said Mob

"No. Ryou, take him and tell him what you should have told him years ago." Said Minegishi. They 'glared' at Ryou with their aura. He faced them. They held that for what felt like a million years. Ryou broke first. They weren't going to celebrate their victory…since it didn't feel like a victory at all.

"….alright. Sho…come on. We have to talk." Said Ryou before he got up, teleported to Sho, and then teleported them all away to God only knew where. Minegishi knew that they should have felt better, things were finally going to end on the weird crush front, but they just…could not…relax. They just…they needed…they needed to be alone…they needed a nap. They needed….

Mob put her hand over theirs.

It was just the two of them now. Mob's hand was over hers and they knew that she had no idea what, exactly, had Minegishi so upset…because didn't fully understand it either….they had no idea if they ever would dully understand it. They didn't know. They just let Mob hold their hand…they were being comforted by a twelve year old. They were twenty nine years old being comforted by this twelve year old…this twelve year old who was reaching into her bag with her free hand…

Minegishi shook their head.

"Whatever you're going to offer me just…put it away. I'm going….I'm going home. I'm just…tired." Said Minegishi. They got up and made their way through the living room. So many toys to step over…they just…they needed to get home. They needed to be alone. They needed to leave Mob alone to be, well, twelve. She should not have had to comfort them…they should have comforted her. At some point they had switched roles. She had started comforting them…they were getting sentimental. They tucked their bracelet into their sleeve. They just…they needed to get some space and they needed to just…they just…they needed to give Mob some space….

So that was what they did. They got some space, gave Mob some space, and…and that was the right thing to do…so that was what they did…for the first time in their life.