Aquariums had never really held much appeal.

He had been before, of course, it was a standard school trip and family outing to go to the aquarium and look at the fish. He didn't see what the appeal was. These were fish. They swam. That was it. They swam in their tanks and sometimes they ate, which was sort of interesting, and that was just…it. There was nothing else really to do. You could watch fish on television and get the same affect, really. Being in the water was different. Diving deep into the water, cold and black all around him, touching the fish…fish were actually kind of sharp….it was different. More…interesting than this. Not better but more…interesting.

He wasn't going to complain, though.

"Touichirou, over there!" said Shiori as she took his hand in hers and pointed at the tank in front of them. This was the best time to come, she had said, because it wasn't crowded. School was back in session, the summer break was over, and people had gotten back to their lives. Normally on a Monday morning this place would have been crowded by people trying to figure out something for their kids to do with their endless amounts of time over the break.

His parents had done the same.

When he had been small. When he hadn't had a single friend in the world. By the time he hit middle school, and met Tadashi, there hadn't been any need to keep him occupied. Also mother hated outings. She always acted excited, went on and on about all the fun activities that she had planned, but then when the time came she always got…upset. She never told him what he had done to upset her, or how he could change, she just…told him that she was upset with him. That he must have hated her. That he must have had something against her. Women were confusing like that…well most of them.

Shiori wasn't confusing.

She liked the aquarium. She took the day off once a month to come during the off time. She wanted to bring him here. She liked being around him. So she asked him to come. That was all. She had been happy when he picked her up, happy when they got here, and happy as they made their way down the various floors. She was happy, now, very happy. She was holding his hand in hers…he was very careful to exorcise any emotion that came from this. There was a reason he had stopped coming to these sorts of places…and not just because fish were boring.

And, no, he hadn't tapped the glass like Fukuda had said.

"That's not a whale." Said Suzuki as Shiori pulled him closer to the tank. She had his hand in hers, his ring hand, his ring-less hand. It had taken a lot of soap but it had come off…and he hadn't gotten rid of it…he just wasn't wearing it. It had been on his finger for over half a danced it's loss was felt, but not…not as badly as he would have thought. He had gotten almost sued to it, not having that ring around his finger. It wasn't like it had been a heavy thing, just a tight one, and…well he didn't have it on now…and it didn't feel that different…

Almost like he had never been wearing it at all.

"No, it's a whale shark. The biggest in captivity…can you believe it? That's the biggest shark in captivity and we have it." Said Shiori. She was squeezing his hand in hers. His former ring hand. That was it, the thing that…well not bothered him, but the thing that he noticed. Her hand was soft, very soft, and her nails…well there was a…glossiness to them. That was the word for it. He dragged his thumb over the top of her nail. It was pink and glossy and…

And he let go of her hand.

"I've seen bigger." Said Suzuki as the whale shark, which was a shark and not a carnivorous whale like he'd thought, swim by. It was big but he'd seen bigger. There had been a time after university when he'd been affected by a wort of wanderlust, one which had taken him all around the world. The ocean was a part of the world. He wasn't a strong swimmer, actually he couldn't really swim but he did have powers. He had grown curious, one day, as to what was down there…so in he went. The ocean was cold, salty, and when you got down deep enough it was dark.

Also terrifying.

He'd seen whales. Actual whales. They were huge. He had seen photographs and documentaries but none of them could do the animals justice. Something that big should not have existed in this world…but they did…and they were amazing. They were amazing but he hadn't had to see them more than once. Other people had seen them before so there was no point. They said that the moon had been explored more than the ocean had been….but anyone could explore the ocean. Only a few people had ever even set foot on the moon…and he was not one of them. The moon was too far away for him to get to…even when he pushed himself…

He wondered if, next time, she would have wanted to go to the planetarium.

"What? There's a secret Claw aquarium out there with a great white shark or something?" asked Shiori

"No, I meant in the ocean." Said Suzuki

"Well we're not in the ocean so I guess we just have to enjoy what we have…and there it goes. Don't worry, it'll come back around eventually." Said Shiori

"Oh. Do you want to wait for it or do you want to keep going?" asked Suzuki

"I've seen it before so we can move on or we can wait. Whatever you want." Said Shiori

"I don't really care. I'm only here because you want me to be." Said Suzuki. Her aura pulled in close…he must have said something wrong…but he had no idea what. Women were so confusing like that. People were confusing in general but women took it to a new level.

"….if you want to leave then you can leave." Said Shiori. Suzuki…got the feeling that she wasn't serious. When a woman told you that you could leave if you wanted to it never meant that. He had learned that one back in university. He wasn't the best when it came to dealing with people, especially with women, but at least he knew when they did and did not want you to leave.

And right now she did not want him to leave.

"You don't want to me to leave." Said Suzuki

"I don't want you to be anywhere that you don't want to be." Said Shiori

"I want to be wherever you are." Said Suzuki

"Do you really mean that or are you just trying to be nice? It's hard to tell with you sometimes." Said Shiori

"I mean it. This is a place that you love and I enjoy seeing you happy. I enjoy…I enjoy being with you." Said Suzuki. He felt for the ring on his finger…but it was still gone. It was in his pocket…and he almost wanted to put it back on. He wanted…he wanted….he didn't know what he wanted. He knew what he had said, that he should have had his ring on, that he should have been more loyal to Masami…or loyal at all….

But she had left him first.

She had been happy to leave him, happy to end their marriage, happy to just…go. She had been the one to leave first and…and she had no interest in being married to him. Like Hatori had said, he could be somewhat intelligent when he wanted to be, that it made no sense to be married to a woman who had no interest in being married to him. A marriage took two people. One person in a marriage was just a man wearing a twenty four carat gold ring.

And he wasn't a big fan of jewelry.

"I like being with you too…sorry about that. It's just hard to get a read on you sometimes." Said Shiori

"I feel the same way about you…well about all women…and all people…actually you're not that difficult to understand. You tell me when you're upset with me and you always explain yourself. I like that…and I like…I like being around you." Said Suzuki

"I like being around you too…this has been fun." Said Shiori

"I'm glad that you've been having fun. That was my goal." Said Suzuki. She was smiling…and her aura was happy too. It was glowing, but not flaring, and…well she had this glow around her. This was sort of…sort of like the one that Masami had. Not her aura, she hadn't had any kind of any aura around, but her face….she had just been glowing. They had taken a walk for their first date, a walk in the park and then lunch, and she had stopped to pet all the dogs…she liked dogs. She liked dogs and Shiori…she liked cats…and fish…and maybe that was just a female trait, caring for things that were alive.

That would have made sense.

There. He understood something else about her…it was like another piece of her puzzle had fallen into place. She was a puzzle like all people were…puzzles with way too many pieces…but he had never been bad at puzzles. If given enough time he could have done any puzzle…and if given enough time he could have understood…well, no, actually he couldn't have understood every single person…but at least he understood Shiori. He understood her and…and he was near her…and she was right there and…

And her hand was in his again.

"Well mission accomplished. You really know how to show a girl a good time." Said Shiori as she squeezed his hand in hers. All the fish ran away, well swam away, to the other side of the tank. The scant crowd that was around began to murmur in speculation at this event. Suzuki was not about to claim responsibility…and really there was no need to. He hadn't cracked the glass this time, that was what mattered. The last time he had been to the aquarium…well only fish had died, not people, and there were plenty more fish in the world than people. Fish probably outnumbered people well into the millions if not the billions…so their loss was not felt deeply…

Though he wasn't going to destroy Shiori's favorite aquarium, even on accident.

"Sorry." said Shiori as she let go of his hand. He reached out for her, for just a second, before returning his hand to his side where it belonged. Always let the woman lead, that had been the best advice his father had ever given him, when the woman led then you didn't have to start guessing what she wanted or if she liked you. He let her lead and…and he shouldn't have been in a position where she should have been leading…but also…also there was no point in being loyal to someone who had betrayed him.

Even if she had been perfect.

Masami had been perfection personified…when he had met her. She wasn't. She had left and….and she had left him all alone…she had left him alone with both of the children…and now he didn't even have his children. His children had cast him aside…and none of that would have happened if she had just stayed put and told him what it was that she had anted from him. If she had just stayed there then…then none of this would have happened and…and they would have been alright but…but she was gone. She was gone and….and he had…he had Shiori's company and….and he'd had her hand in his and…and it had been his ring hand. He didn't want the ring back, though, he wanted her hand…

But it was gone.

"Why-why are you apologizing?" asked Suzuki

"I'm making you uncomfortable, I can tell." Said Shiori

"I don't feel that way…I mean that…you have never made me feel that way." said Suzuki

"Really? I've never made you feel that way? Not even once?" asked Shiori

"No, not that I can recall." Said Suzuki. He hadn't known her for a very long time…well he had been speaking to her for a while…but all of their interactions had been pleasant. He had never felt uncomfortable because of her…sometimes around her…but never because of her.

"Are you serious right now?" asked Shiori. She crossed her arms and put her back to him. If there had been fish swimming then he would have thought that she had been looking at them…but they were still gone. Animals didn't like him at the best of times…and also he had kind of banged on the glass with his powers accidentally. They would be gone for a while…so maybe she was waiting for them to come back?

"If you're waiting for the fish to come back I accidentally scared them away…but I can drag them back if you want me to." Said Suzuki. She still had her back to him. She looked over her shoulder at him but still kept her back to him…he knew what she looked like, what her face looked like, and…and he didn't need to see it again…but he wanted to see it again….

"It's fine….I mean…it's fine." Said Shiori

"What are you….being like this…for? I mean why are you acting like this?" asked Suzuki. He could ask her about this, about what she was acting like this about. Masami…she had always told him that she was fine…she was fine even when she wasn't. She wasn't fine at all when she said that, looking back, but she had wanted him to think so….and…people were so complicated. When something was wrong then he told whoever had upset him what they had done wrong and how they could fix it. He had no idea how he was supposed to fix this, or even what he had done, and he…well if she had been Masami then he would have left her alone since she, like she said, that he 'knew what he had done' even though he hadn't.

"I'm not acting like…yeah, I'm acting like…yeah. You know what? I just don't like being lied to. It's just…I know that it's been about a year but…yeah. It still hurts. What happened between us." Said Shiori

"Oh." Said Suzuki. Well that…was not what he had been expecting. He had thought that they had moved beyond his indiscretion. Leaving her and all of that…but of course she would have been hurt…and he had hurt her. He had hurt countless people…but he had never wanted to hurt her. She was…she was…not Masami but…but he didn't want to hurt Shiori…

He cared for her.

"Yeah, oh." Said Shiori

"I…am very sorry for the way I treated you…but that was not your fault. Before you were talking about you making me uncomfortable…but you didn't do anything. That was my fault…and I apologize…and I don't think that this is the sort of thing which we should be discussing in public." Said Suzuki. This was not at all the sort of thing one discussed in public, especially at his age. He wasn't an adolescent anymore and he knew better. He knew a lot better now and…and he just…he wasn't going to embarrass himself…

Being in public…he had never enjoyed being out in public.

There were so many rules to remember. The obvious ones, like don't talk about sex in public, and also there were a million others that he always forgot. He wished that he had been with Hatori, he knew Hatori better than he knew Shiori, but…well Shiori wanted to be here….and he wanted to be wherever Shiori wanted to be.

He wanted to be with her.

"What? You're ashamed of me now?" asked Shiori. The room shook. That was the only loss of control he allowed himself…and he shouldn't have allowed it…but she thought…she actually thought…..

"No! Of course not! I could never be ashamed of you! I-I-" said Suzuki. Oh no. He'd given her the wrong idea. He was so bad at this! He was bad at this and…and now she would never want to see him again. She would never want to see him or speak to him or spend time with him and…

And that time the glass did crack.

It was loud, it was sudden, but it wasn't that bad. Just a hairline crack…not as bad as when he had been young. He was older now and his control was better. His control over his powers and his emotions. He exorcised what he felt, the storm of anxieties and fears, and just…tried his best to remain calm. Even if she never wanted to see him again…well at least she was making herself perfectly clear instead of running away without so much as leaving a goodbye note.

At least he knew what he had done this time.

"Relax, I was kidding. I forgot that you didn't know what sarcasm was…and since that's about ninety percent of the way I communicate then we might have a problem. You, me, and the fish of course…maybe don't kill them on my account." Said Shiori

"I…did not mean to do that. I would never purposely destroy a place that you love." Said Suzuki

"So, you do care." Said Shiori

"Of course I care for you. I wouldn't be here with you if I didn't care for you." Said Suzuki. She was facing him now. She was looking him right in the eye…that was a lot of eye contact…but he held it. Her eyes left his, briefly, to dart downwards before reaching his eyes yet again.

"You're not wearing your wedding ring." Said Shiori

"I'm not." Said Suzuki as he reached down and felt for his ring…the ring that he knew for a fact that he wasn't wearing.

"Touichirou…" said Shiori. The sound of his given name…the sound of her saying it…it was perfect. He had never given much thought to his given name…but the way that she said it…it only would have been better if she had called him Touichi…

"Yes?" asked Suzuki. His given name…nobody used his given name. She could use it. She could use it and she could call him whatever she wanted to and she just…ok. He was going to stop staring at her and stop thinking about her and…and he had no idea how he could ever stop thinking about her. She was so close and…and she was looking away from him. He exorcised his emotions as best as he could.

"Wat are we doing?" asked Shiori

"We're…at the aquarium. Specifically we're waiting for the whale shark to come back….I think. After this we were going to…well you didn't say what we were going to do…but it would be nice to walk through the tunnel which is also a tank. It reminds me of the projection of the night sky at the planetarium….that's my favorite part of the planetarium….and you said that your favorite part of the aquarium, well one of your favorite parts, was the tunnel….and that's something that we have in common….I mean…I'm sorry, usually I'm better at choosing my words than this." said Suzuki

"That's…so you." Said Shiori. She smiled and laughed…but not meanly. Well it didn't feel like she was being mean…and she wasn't a mean person. She was a nice person, a good person, but also…also he just…he had no idea. Women were so confusing…well people were confusing…but women were especially confusing.

"I…apologize? I'm sorry, I'm confused. Women are…confusing." Said Suzuki

"People are confusing, not just women." Said Shiori

"Yes, that is…they are…are…thank you for understanding." Said Suzuki

"I wish I could understand you." Said Shiori

"I…don't think that I'm a very complex person. I say what I mean and I mean what I say." Said Suzuki

"I know. That means that it's on me to ask the right question." Said Shiori

"Yes." said Suzuki. Good. She understood. She understood and now they could move forward. She wasn't like Masami. Masami had always told him that he needed to know what he had done wrong, or that it wasn't on her to tell him every little thing, or that she was fine….but Shiori…she understood. She understood and….and he could feel his heart beating. Shigeko had a word for this, doki doki, and he finally got it…

He just wished that there was a less juvenile way to describe this feeling…and also that his own daughter wasn't the one who taught him that word.

"So then…what are we doing? I mean in…whatever you want to call this. Our relationship." Said Shiori

"This is…a relationship?" asked Suzuki. He hadn't intended for this to be…well he wanted….he had no idea what he wanted. He was married. He was a married man…but also how could a person be married on their own? He didn't exactly have a wife…not for real. Not in the real way. The way that mattered. Masami wasn't there…

But Shiori was.

She was there and she was just…he didn't know. Perfect. Pretty. Wonderful. Intelligent. Caring. She was…she was his…she wasn't his. He had someone and…and he didn't want to talk about it. He just wanted to be there with her, that was all. He just wanted to be by her side and to see her happy. What else could have mattered? What else could he have wanted?

To be hers for the rest of his life…but he wasn't going to talk about that.

"That's what I'm trying to figure out. I like spending time with you. I want to spend more time with you…and yeah, people talk, but people can go choke for all I care. I like you a lot but I'm not looking for anything serious right now…and you showed up today without your wedding ring on. So what, does that mean that you're divorced now or something?" asked Shiori

"I…am still married. Legally. Though I feel as though…may I be honest with you?" asked Suzuki

"Do you think that I want to be lied to?" asked Shiroi

"Possibly. Sometimes people want to hear what they want to hear and not what they need to hear. I've never been able to tell the difference so I thought that it would be best to just ask you." Said Suzuki

"I want the truth." Said Shiori

"Alright….if I speak freely with you can you assure me that you won't think less of me?" Said Suzuki

"Why would I think less of you? I know you….well I'd like to think that I do." Said Shiori

"You do. I just…alright. Legally I am married but I have come to the conclusion that my marriage has been over for some time now. My wife…does not wish to be my wife…and it makes no sense for me to be married to a woman who has no interest in being married to me." Said Suzuki

"Yeah…that makes sense…" said Shiori

"I think so as well." Said Suzuki. They thought alike…well he thought that they thought alike. That was, maybe, wishful thinking on his part. A woman who understood him…now that was an old fantasy. A woman who understood him…nobody understood him. He didn't even always understand himself. The only person who had ever come close to understanding him had been Tadashi and Tadashi…well he'd had a big part in this mess that they were in right now. Still though…there had been one person who understood him….and now maybe there was another.

"So…" said Shiori

"Yes?" said Suzuki. She was close to him. She was close to him and she was looking at the ground…she was thinking about something. She seemed deep in thought…and he wished that he could read minds…even though that would have been terrible invasive and also loud.

"Nothing. I was just thinking." Said Shiori

"About?" asked Suzuki

"Just what this made us…but we don't have to put a label on this…I'm not in the mood to discuss this now. Anyway come on, before we all drown." Said Shiori. She grabbed his hand again…his ring hand. She held his hand in hers and laced their fingers together…the crack in the tank got worse. Maybe it was best that they got out of there…he wanted to get out of there. He wanted to be with her…alone…just to have her for himself. He wanted to have her all for himself…so she couldn't leave…because she could leave…

He held her hand tighter.

He had her. He didn't have Masami, he didn't have Shigeko, he didn't have Tadashi…but he did have Shiori. She was there and she wanted to be his and he wanted to be hers…well maybe not since she said that she wasn't looking for anything long term…but this was…this was good. Being here at a place that she loved, seeing her so happy, knowing that she was happy…it was…this was…this was good.

He didn't much care for the aquarium, and never had, but he did care for Shiori…he cared for her more than words could ever express.