There were special kinds of dogs that could find people.
Shimazaki said so and he knew a lot about dogs. Mob trusted him. Even if he hadn't known a lot about dogs she would have trusted him. He was her friend…and she didn't have a lot of those. She had one less friend, now, because Minegishi was gone. They were gone and…and there was nothing that Mob could do. Hatori was with dad and even if he had been there Minegishi taped over the camera in their phone so there was no way to find them…well there was find my iPhone….but Minegishi might not have had an iPhone anymore. They might have lost their phone.
They certainly weren't picking up.
Mob tried again. She reached into her pocket and tried…and it rang…and rang…and then rang some more. It rang for thirty seconds. That was half of a minute, Tsuchiya had been trying to teach her math for a while now. Mob didn't need to be a math genius, though, to know that Minegishi was either ignoring her or they had just lost their phone. If it had gone straight to voicemail then their phone would have been off. If it had just rang a couple of times and then went to voicemail then they would have just been ignoring her.
She really hoped that they'd just lost their phone…or something.
She clicked her phone off and put it back into her pocket. She shouldn't have been putting it in her pocket, Minori had said that putting stuff in your pockets ruined whatever you were wearing, but right now she didn't care how she looked. She hadn't changed her clothes since before she had gotten on the plane. That had been almost a whole day ago…maybe more because of the time change. She didn't know. Dad would have known if he had been there. He knew a lot of things about a lot of things…but he wasn't here now. It was just Mob here.
Mob, Shimazaki, and the cat that nobody could settle on a name for.
"Come on you stupid cat, get the scent already!" said Shimazaki as he pushed the Cat's face into the pile of blankets on the couch. Dad had said, a million times before, that the office couch was for making important visitors feel comfortable. He had told Sho a million times that the couch was not a fort, a trampoline, or a battering ram. That was back when she and Sho had been little enough to play in his office. Dad didn't like that, when she and Sho played in his office, so if he had been around then he would have been really mad about this.
Minegishi had been living HERE of all places.
"You said that it was only dogs who could do that." Said Mob. Shimazaki put Cat down…who then ran away to the space under dad's desk. He wasn't going to like that, he didn't like animals, and…and also he didn't like anyone but her and maybe Fukuda hanging out in his office when he wasn't there. He was not going to be happy about any of this. Not the mess, not the cat, not the pets, and not…well she didn't want to worry about this. She had her best friend to worry about.
Something must have been wrong…but she had no idea what.
"Well, Mob, we don't have one of those now do we? It's not easy finding a blood hound in Japan…maybe a German shepherd would do…but those are hard to find here too! Seriously, what is everyone DOING with all of these little lapdogs….useless….well no, they aren't useless….they're cute and loyal. All dogs are loyal…man's best friend. Don't forget that, Mob, don't ever forget that." Said Shimazaki. He sighed and sat down on the couch…well he let himself fall onto it. Mob winced as she heard it groan. He weighed a lot…well not that he was fat, just that he was big. Even though he was trying to make himself look small, it seemed. He hunched over and held his head in his hands. She wondered if his back hurt.
She didn't want to have to worry about this right now.
But she didn't have a choice. What she wanted didn't matter, not when her friends were sad and stuff. She was…she was not that person. She was not the sort of person that had people who needed her and just…didn't care. Didn't care and just…left. Just left in the middle of the night or early in the morning…or whenever. She loved her friends and she was never going to leave any of them.
Even if they'd left her.
"Shimazaki….it's going to be ok." Said Mob. He didn't look at her. His aura didn't rest on hers even once. She tapped him with her aura…still nothing. She decided that she needed to be near him. When she got like this, when she tried to make herself small, she wanted someone else to be there to make her feel big. Minegishi was good at that. She knew that no matter how small she felt Minegishi would be there for her with something to say that would build her back up and make her feel tall…well taller. She wasn't small…actually right now she was really small…but how she felt didn't matter. She had a friend and he needed her.
She sat next to him.
She moved the pile of blankets, he scratchy kind that the Awakened had to use, onto the floor and sat next to Shimazaki. He had his head in his hands and she could hear him muttering something in English. She leaned in close, as close as she could…which wasn't as close as normal. His barrier was up, the really thin one that could stop bullets. She touched it…it was kind of…scratchy? Itchy? It didn't like her aura. Shimazaki was still muttering. He didn't even seem to notice…or maybe he just didn't care…but she cared. He was acting like…this. Sad. He was acting sad and…and he hated sad people, he had said so a million times before. Sad people were boring and he didn't do boring….but he was being sad now and…and….
And she could fix this.
"Shimazaki?" asked Mob. She pushed against his barrier. She could have broken it…but then that would have been mean….right? When she had been little dad had taught her to break through his barrier…but that had just been for training…not comfort…she didn't know much about comfort…well she knew what she could try. She knew that she could have hugged Shimazaki and told him how much she loved him, that everything was going to be ok, and that…well all of the other nice things that she wished that people could have told her if they'd known when she needed comfort…but the only person who knew when she needed to be comforted was gone and…and maybe she needed….
What she needed didn't matter. Shimazaki needed her and that was what mattered.
"Shimazaki Ryou?" asked Mob as she pressed against his barrier again. It didn't break it just sort of….went inwards? It was like pushing on a sheet of plastic wrap. It bent inwards but didn't break. She wondered if she should have broken it. Then maybe he would have stopped muttering. She didn't even know what he was saying…singing. Words. He was singing a little bit…and now that she was closer she could sort of hear the tune….
Singing wasn't always a good thing.
"Ryou?" said Mob. She pushed harder, hard enough that it might have even broken if she had just pushed a little bit harder. She could have pushed just a little but harder…but that would have been too much. Shimazaki…sometimes he didn't like to be touched….and she got the feeling that this may have been one of those times. She didn't know…she was so clueless! She had always been clueless and…and she was older now but….but just because she was older it didn't mean that she was wiser! She just…she didn't know…Minegishi knew things. Minegishi knew a lot of things and…and they had left before they could teach Mob all the things that they knew…and….and….
It wasn't fair!
"Ryou!" shouted Mob. She hadn't meant to shout, not that loudly anyway. Shouting was wrong and shouting at Shimazaki was even more wrong because of how sensitive his hearing was. He shot up when she shouted…and also she had maybe pushed too hard on his barrier. He was good at putting up a barrier…and she was good at breaking them down….but she hadn't broken it down. No, she had just pushed it hard enough, close enough, that she had been able to feel him with her powers.
His aura felt just as sad as he looked.
"Mob…hey." Said Shimazaki. He made himself look relaxed. She knew what he looked like when he was relaxed, all loose and boneless, but now…well now he was trying. She could see how tense his aura was…and he was tapping his feet in his shoes too. There was a twitch at the corners of his eyes, too, every so often. Mob…she didn't know how to fix it….she had no idea how to fix her friend…
Wait! She knew how to fix this!
"Do you want a drink?" asked Mob as her eyes rested on the fancy crystal bottles over on the drink shelf. Those were for guests, too, the important sort of people who came to visit dad and ask for deals and stuff. Mob…well she knew that dad didn't like it when she drank it….but right now Shimazaki needed a drink. If he was acting the way he was, letting the sadness inside of him show, then something was wrong. You weren't supposed to let these things show. Conceal don't feel…that was what you were supposed to do. It hadn't worked out well for Elsa but she wasn't Elsa.
Elsa wasn't real…but Mob was.
"Like you wouldn't believe." Said Shimazaki. Mob nodded and poured them two drinks with her powers. She filled two of the square cups, they were the fanciest, with the brown stuff in the bottles. It was either scotch or brandy….or cognac. Mob couldn't remember what these had been refilled with…hey! It could have been bourbon. That stuff was sweet and sweet was good…but also not good because when something was sweet Mob had trouble with moderation…and Minegishi had been telling her for years that she had to use moderation….
Maybe if she had listened then Minegishi would still have been here.
Maybe if she had been nicer then Minegishi would have still been there. Maybe if she had been more focused on herself and more focused on her friends then Minegishi wouldn't have left. Maybe if Mob hadn't been so worried about having fun, and more worried about how sick her best friend had been, then Minegishi would have still been there. Maybe even if…if she hadn't sent Fukuda away then…then she would still have had a best friend….
She needed a drink.
She took a sip of whatever was in the glass…it smelled like tea…and that was because it was tea. She didn't spit it out. She wanted to spit it out, this was old tea after all, but she managed to swallow it down. That was more than Shimazaki did. He downed the whole thing, that was how he always drank, and then he spat the whole thing out. Cat ran out from under dad's desk…and then right to under the couch. Mob felt bad for Cat…and Shimazaki…and maybe herself too…since she did kind of need a drink…even though Minegishi had told her a million times before about moderation.
Mob sucked….but not as much as this tea.
"Mob, what the hell?!" said Shimazaki as he spat onto the rug. He spat and spat even though he had gotten the tea out of his mouth a while ago…and it wasn't that bad. It could have been worse…like…if it had been flat soda or sour chocolate milk…or something. She had no idea how any of that had gotten into those fancy crystal bottles…or why tea was there in the first place….
A prank?
"Maybe someone was pulling a prank. You know, like you and Sho do sometimes." Said Mob
"Me and Sho would never do anything like this. There's no punchline here…well there is, this shit is beyond nasty, but…you don't fuck with a man's liquor." Said Shimazaki
"Oh…well maybe someone was trying to get back at dad for something. I mean, he isn't very popular and people…they try to hurt him all the time." Said Mob. She wished that she hadn't opened her mouth. Now she was thinking about it. Her best friend….and her other best friend…killed people….because dad said so…but those people had tried to kill dad…so it was like self-defense…right? Like how Shimazaki had told her that it was ok to bite a boy's thing if he tried to put it in her mouth and she didn't want him to…she had no idea why she would have ever wanted to….but…the point was that it was ok….because it was self-defense and….and….
And she didn't want her dad to die...so it was….not ok but….it was not something that she wanted to think about.
"No, this isn't the world's shittiest assassination attempt. This was Toshi." Said Shimazaki
"Why did Minegishi want to do this to my dad? They know that he doesn't drink." Said Mob
"They didn't do this to fuck with him, they did this to hide how much they were drinking…which meant that they've been drinking a lot…fuck! Toshi just….fuck!" said Shimazaki. He tossed his glass down onto the ground, well he tried to. Mob caught it with her powers. He wiped his eyes…he was crying! She hadn't seen him cry before….not that she could remember. She….well she wanted to….she wiped her eyes. Once. She didn't get to be upset right now. No, her friend was upset…and he had more of a reason to be upset than she did. She had only lost her best friend…he had lost the love of his life. Mob had never lost the love of her life before….but she knew that the worst feeling that a person could feel was heartbreak.
She wiped his eyes.
She pulled up the bottom of her shirt and wiped his tears as best as she could. She had to sit up on her knees, she was still a lot smaller than he was, and it wasn't easy. This couch was all lumpy…people really weren't supposed to use this as anything other than a couch. She did her best, though, she had thought that she had been doing a good job.
He'd stopped crying at least.
"It's ok, Shimazaki, I'm here. I'm here." Said Mob as she wiped his leftover tears. She didn't care if the bottom of her shirt was getting wet, or how the wet parts would turn see through since it was white, she just cared about her friend….about making him feel as good as he normally felt. Shimazaki had always been like…like a firework. All bright and happy and…and she supposed that he was still like a firework.
Fireworks exploded and went out, didn't they? That was the point.
"Yeah…you're here." Said Shimazaki. He laughed….though it didn't sound like his normal laugh. It sounded like he was trying to copy himself….and that…that wasn't right at all.
"Shimazaki….it's ok. You're going to be ok. We…we don't have to be sad. We're going to find Minegishi. We don't need a blood dog or a blood cat or any other kind of cat and dog. We…we just…we have leads! I mean…they came here to see Mat-their other friend and…and if I can find him then I'll be able to find Minegishi." Said Mob. She smiled at the end of it…even though she didn't feel it. Shimazaki didn't smile back. He just put a hand over hers and pushed it down.
She let go of her shirt.
He wiped his own eyes that time even though she hadn't left any tears at all for him to wipe. She had don't a good job…she always did a good job…or at least she tried her best to do a good job. She could only do her best….but her best wasn't good enough. Shimazaki pushed her backwards, now, so that she was sitting down on her legs. He fixed that. He pulled her legs out from under her, one at a time, until she was sitting like normal.
It didn't help.
"Mob…." Said Shimazaki
"We…we will. I mean we're going to find Minegishi and then-" said Mob
"Mob." Said Shimazaki
"They're going to come back and then everything's going to be back to normal-" said Mob
"Shigeko." said Shimazaki
"We're all going to be friends again. They're going to go back to being my best friend and-" said Mob
"Shigeko…." said Shimazaki
"And-and-and then they'll be your theyfriend and then everything will be better and-" said Mob
"Suzuki, for the love of God!" said Shimazaki. Mob shut her mouth. He hadn't asked her to shut up…but for once she could read his tone. For once she wasn't clueless. He was glowing, practically, and…and his aura felt mad…she had made him mad….this was her fault…
Everything was her fault.
"Shimazaki….I'm sorry. This is….this is all my fault. I made you mad and…and I made Minegishi leave and…and I ruined your relationship and….and I ruined the best friendship that I've ever had and-" said Mob. Now she was crying…just a little. She needed to keep her tears in her eyes where they belonged, like dad had told her and Sho when they had been little….but she couldn't. They were coming out…not like big sobs but…but enough that she could hear her tears hitting the leather of the couch…and dad would have been upset since getting the couch wet would ruin it…
She didn't care.
"Hey…no, no, no. I didn't….God….I fuck everything up. I fucked it up with Toshi and I'm fucking it up with you…just…come on…stop crying." Said Shimazaki
"I'm trying my best." Said Mob as she wiped her eyes. No matter how many times she wiped her eyes the tears just came back, like how enemies respawned in a game, and…and tears weren't her enemy…right? Mom had said, when she had been little, that tears were just the body's way of getting rid out all of it's extra feelings. Dad had told her that emotions were her enemy and that…that she could lose control….and she was losing control…just a little bit. The Cat had run under dad's desk again…but it had almost been crushed by falling books….she needed to clean up the books…she had a lot of things to clean up….
She needed to stop crying and…and clean this up….clean everything up.
"Well try no more! Just….stay there. I'll be right back." Said Shimazaki. He pulled her close and kissed her, between her eyes like normal, before he teleported away. She wished that he hadn't done that. She knew that she tasted salty. She knew that she shouldn't have been crying. No wonder Shimazaki had wanted to leave her…no wonder her Cat was hiding from her…no wonder dad hadn't once asked to come back….she was terrible and….and there was no wonder, too, why her best friend had left….or her mom…..
Everyone left.
But Shimazaki came back. He had been gone for less than a minute before he popped back into her room…with bottles? He had his arms filled with…well that was milk. He had milk and that vodka in the fancy bottle….and also something called gin. Oh! She knew gin! It was…not that good….
But she really needed a drink so she wasn't going to complain.
"Mob, have you ever had a white Russian?" asked Shimazaki
"No, not that I can remember…what's that?" asked Mob with a sniffle.
"Give me your glass and I'll show you." Said Shimazaki. Mob passed him her glass. Shimazaki balanced it between his knees and poured in a little bit of everything. The milk, the vodka, and the gin. He smelled it when he was done pouring….and he frowned. She had no idea why. That was the most perfect drink that she had even seen. There were two different kinds of liquor in there and MILK!? This was perfect…even if there wasn't a lot of moderation in that glass.
Mob could use moderation later. Right now she needed a drink.
"I…think that I might have fucked this shit up. I put in milk, vodka, and kalua, right?" asked Shimazaki
"No, you put in milk, vodka, and gin." Said Mob
"Fuck! That shit feels just like the kalua bottle…the one with the long neck. Well this isn't a white Russian…I have no idea what this shit is going to taste like but you can have it." Said Shimazaki. He handed Mob the cup. She took it and sipped it…and it tasted like burning. Not sweet. She liked it when her drinks were mostly fruit and sugar. This was mostly milk….but the milk couldn't cut through the burning…
But the burning was good. The burning meant that it was working.
"I like it." Said Mob. She held out her glass and he started to pour her another one.
"You're a weirdo, Mob, have I ever told you that?" asked Shimazaki
"I-I'm sorry…" said Mob
"Don't be. I love that about you. You're just so….you. You're nice and shit. Like before when you were trying to make me feel better. That's more than what most people would have done for me, you know? I guess I just…got too used to shit like that…having someone who cared." Said Shimazaki. Mob reached over and took the glass from him before it overflowed. This one was mostly milk…which would have been better for the burning but not as good for getting drunk…but he was maybe trying to keep her from getting drunk. Mob didn't think very well when she was drunk, that was the point, and right now she needed to…to calm down…and then plan her next move. That was important, dad had said so, back when she had been little dad used to tell her that all the time when they would play Chinese checkers together. He told her to never assume that she had a second chance and to plan all of her moves in advance.
She had to figure out what she was going to do.
Thinking was…going to get hard if she kept on drinking. She was starting to feel warm in her face…maybe that was because Shimazaki was so close, though, and not because of how much she had been drinking. She finished her second glass and waited, this time, before she handed it back to him. He was making his own drink, now….
And he skipped the milk.
"Fuck….this is some dry ass gin. How can you drink this shit?" asked Shimazaki
"With milk." Said Mob. She had no idea which part of what she had said was meant to be funny, she actually hadn't meant any parts to be funny, but Shimazaki was laughing. He was laughing for real this time. She was glad. There. That was one problem solved….and now she just had a million more to go.
"Mob….I fucking love you." Said Shimazaki. She knew how he meant that, like a friend. That meant that it was ok. Minegishi was her best friend and they knew that Mob would never have stolen their boyfriend…even though their boyfriend was sitting really close and stuff. Mob was just having weird thoughts. That was how she felt, sometimes, like she was just….weird. Like she was full of weird thoughts and weird feelings and just…like she was a weirdness kinder surprise eggs or something….
She needed to stop being weird and start looking for her friend….after she was done drinking.
"I love you too…now come on, let's finish all of this and then clean this room up so we can go and find Minegishi." Said Mob. Shimazaki shook his head.
"Let the Awakened clean this shit up. I'm not the maid." Said Shimazaki
"Um….ok. I mean it's kind of mean to make extra work for them but…you're right. That way we'll have more time to find Minegishi…and we will find them. That's a promise…and a promise is a promise." Said Mob. She took his hand in hers so he would know how serious she was. She wondered if they needed to pinky swear, maybe that would have been better, but she wasn't going to swear in spit like the boys at her school had done when she had been little. Shimazaki might have been expecting that, being a boy and all, but Mob…she was not a boy and…well she had her limits.
"Yeah, a promise is a promise…but don't promise shit that you can't deliver." Said Shimazaki. He laced his fingers in hers…and that was ok. She and Sho held hands like this sometimes. Her and Minegishi too…and also Mukai…but not that often since her hands were always either mysteriously sticky or mysteriously wet….or both.
"But we're going to find Minegishi so…so it's an ok promise for me to make. If I say that it's going to happen then it's going to happen. It's like how dad said, before, that since he said that he was going to take over the world then it was definitely going to happen. Because he had the audacity to say it…I mean." Said Mob
"Well you do have a lot of audacity, I'll give you that." Said Shimazaki
"Thank you." Said Mob
"But Toshi…they don't want to be found. That's why they came here and not the house. Toshi knew that you've been avoiding this place so you didn't have to end up playing little boss lady again and that's why they came here…and I'm guessing that they ran away because their…boyfriend….found them here. Toshi…sometimes they run away. Sometimes they get this completely fucking IDIOTIC idea that they don't deserve to be happy or…or like they're waiting for the other shoe to drop-" said Shimazaki
"I don't understand. Why doesn't Minegishi think that they deserve to be happy and what does it have to do with shoes?" asked Mob. Minegishi deserved all the happiness in the world! They deserved to be happy like…like they had a big pile of coke to snort and all the joints in the world and a fountain with all three different kinds of milk….or vodka….they liked vodka more…or maybe white Russians so she and Minegishi could both be happy….whatever! Minegishi was her best friend and they deserved all the happiness in the world and then extra, too, while Mob was at it!
"Toshi thinks that the other shoe is just hanging around above them just waiting to fall. They think that if they get too happy they're going to get crushed and….and then they run away to keep that from happening. The same thing happened with Jun…Toshi told you about Jun, right?" asked Shimazaki
"I know that Jun was their girlfriend but then she dumped them." Said Mob
"That's…Toshi's business…but Toshi isn't here so I'll tell you their business. But don't tell Toshi that I told you their business. They hate it when people know their personal shit." Said Shimazaki
"I don't keep secrets from my best friend. Friends don't keep secrets." Said Mob…even though friends did kind of keep secrets. Mob hadn't know about the whole…Minegishi hurting people and killing them thing….but that was ok. Minegishi had said that they would tell her things when she got older…even though they had been saying that since she had been eight and now she was twelve. She wasn't mad, though, not even a little bit. When you loved someone then you were never mad at them.
That was what love was. Accepting someone no matter what.
"You're too damn moral…whatever. Let Toshi kick my ass, at least they'll be near me." Said Shimazaki
"Um…I don't know if I could stop them if they wanted to badly enough….but I don't want anyone to get hurt." Said Mob
"Well as much as you want shit to always work out that's not how it works. Toshi's going to be pissed at me if they come back…but I just want them back. Toshi…they pull this shit a lot…well they used to. Their life's been shit, you know that. Their parents did some fucked up shit to them and…it's the kind of thing that sticks with you. When someone does fucked up shit to you it always hangs out in your head, especially when that shit happens to you when you're a kid." Said Shimazaki
"I…understand." Said Mob. She knew that no matter how much time passed she would never forget what it felt like when she woke up and mom was gone…or the first time Fukuda had treated her like he treated her now…or how it felt when dad called Mukai a mistake and also…also when dad slapped her across the face right afterwards….
Why did bad memories have to hang around the longest?
"Yeah, you'd get it…and I fucking hate that you'd get it…and I fucking hate it that Toshi gets it! I mean…Toshi is Toshi. They think about things…I mean I think too but Toshi's much better at it. They think until they over think…and then when they over think they run away. They start pointless fights about pointless shit and they run away. Like with Jun…and she was Toshi's first…well not their FIRST, but the first person they ever loved…and I've got my own lost Leona or whatever the girl's name from the raven story was….anyway! Yeah. Jun didn't dump Toshi, Toshi go freaked out and slept with their entire friend group before they ran away…also there was a hell of a lot of Xanax involved….don't take that shit, by the way." said Shimazaki
"The stuff in Minegishi's mint tin?" asked Mob
"Yeah. That shit…is actually really fun, especially if you're drunk, but…don't fuck with pills. If I've taught you anything at this point it's not to fuck with pills." Said Shimazaki
"I know, I remember." Said Mob
"Well don't forget. Toshi…normally they're good about pacing themselves but sometimes they get all freaked out over nothing…no…not nothing. Me. I want a hell of a lot of shit that they don't want…like a dog…and a baby…and a life together….and I didn't even know that I want any of that shit!" said Shimazaki
"But…you love dogs." Said Mob
"Yeah….I do love dogs…but the rest of it. I never thought that I would have wanted a kid and a life with someone…but I do. It's like….I don't know. Maybe there's some switch that flips when you turn thirty…not that I didn't want that before…but I fucked it up then too…for a whole different reason, though. I learned from my mistakes. Don't ever let anyone tell you that I don't learn from my mistakes." Said Shimazaki
"If you learn from your mistakes then why do you keep on ruining Shibata's waffle makers?" asked Mob
"It amuses me when he freaks out….and also I like caramel waffles…and anyway that's not a mistake. Sure I'm not the best at timing but that's not as bad as fucking the love of your life's thirteen year old sister and getting your ass kicked out not only from her life but from the family that your bloodlines been a part of since there's even been a yakuza." Said Shimazaki. Mob blinked, downed her drink, and then blinked again. She….knew what those words meant…and she knew that he had been talking fast but she had still been able to understand him…but also just…
What?
"Wait…what did you do?" asked Mob. That….did not make sense. The girl in Shimazaki' s story was only a year older than she was and…well he was a lot older than she was…and that was not how that worked…right? Or maybe it was. Dad had beaten up Shimazaki really badly when he thought that Mob wanted him to be her boyfriend…and Fukuda had been accusing her of being in love with and having….sex…with Shimazaki for years now…so maybe that was how it worked. People Shimazaki's age liked people her age.
She didn't want Shimazaki to like her like that, though, that would have been…really weird.
"To get kicked out? You didn't know?" asked Shimazaki
"No, I just knew that they kicked you out and now when we're in Tokyo we have to be careful or people are going to try and kill you if they see you." Said Mob
"Well, yeah, that's the important part…not like anyone's actually going to shoot me or whatever…anyway! Yeah, I got kicked out and for good reason. I cheated on the love of, well the last love of, my life. I have this thing where if someone wants to fuck I can't say so. Well I can, it's not like anyone's putting a gun to my head, but…yeah. I just don't say no. You don't know it yet but fucking someone…getting fucked…just sex. Sex is the best fucking feeling in the world and once you have it then it's like smoking…or getting stoned…or drunk…or coke. Like really good…everything. It's the best feeling in the world and I like it…and people like it with me…and I don't say no." said Shimazaki
"But…cheating is wrong." Said Mob. Well then. She hadn't known that he was a cheater…and also that Minegishi was a cheater….was that just what happened to people when they grew up? They became cheaters? Dad was a cheater…and so was Sho…well Sho had never done anything with another boy since getting together with Emmy but….but he was cheating on her in his heart and…and….and….
If anyone ever tried to cheat on Mob then he was going to the bad place where dad sent traitors.
"Mob, if you have a problem with me cheating then…well then you don't want to hear any of my stories. I have done so much shit that, if the government even knew half of it, I'd have been executed YEARS ago." Said Shimazaki. He said it with a laugh even though she was sure, as sure as she had ever been of anything else in her life before, that he hadn't said a single funny thing in that sentence. Executing people was….a thing that the government did…but only for people who were too bad that society would be in danger by them just being alive. Dad had told her about it. They executed only the worst of the worst people and she didn't have to worry about it because Claw was nothing but good people….and….and nothing was going to happen to her dad….but she had known that for her whole life. Dad was a good person….everyone in Claw was…
Even her best friends…who killed people on her dad's orders.
"I would never let that happen to you. I don't care what you did or who you…killed. Nothing is ever going to hurt you, Shimazaki, not while I'm around." Said Mob. Shimazaki laughed again…but quieter. Still real, though, still real...and now he was getting really close. He held one of her hands in his and the other one brushed her hime bangs behind her ears. She looked down, he had his glass between his knees. She watched it.
Just to make sure that it didn't fall down.
"You're so badass sometimes, you know that? Without even trying." Said Shimazaki. He was close to her, now, close enough that she could feel him breathing. She felt her face getting warm…but that was just from the drinking…which she needed to stop doing. Her stomach was starting to do flips and flops like every other time she had drank too much.
"Thank you…" said Mob
"Really, I mean that. You'd seriously protect me and, yeah, I don't need to be protected but…it's nice knowing that you have my back." Said Shimazaki
"Oh course I do, you're my friend. I wouldn't ever let anything bad happen to one of my friends." Said Mob
"I wouldn't let anything bad happen to you either….but I'm probably going to end up fucking this up. I fuck everything up. I fucked up with Toshi and I fucked up with…with the person I loved before Toshi…" said Shimazaki
"I don't think that you messed up with Minegishi. I think that…that even if they did run away because they're worried that shoes are going to fall onto them because they're happy…they still love you…and I don't think that you messed up, either. I mean you cheated, you said, before but you and Minegishi are in an open relationship and that means that there isn't any cheating…and also they're an only child so they don't have a little sister for you to…do all the things….with." said Mob
"Well you're right about that, I haven't fucked any thirteen year olds yet, and in my defense she said that she was fifteen." Said Shimazaki
"But you did cheat and that was wrong….but you and Minegishi don't have that kind of…relationship…so I don't really know what the rules for that kind of stuff…are….exactly." said Mob
"I never said I cheated. She knew what I was like…and she liked that about me. That I wasn't one way when we were together and another way when we were apart…Toshi loves that about me too. She just didn't tell me that her sister was off limits….but you're right, Toshi and I don't have to worry about that shit. I've been to that house, the one they grew up in, and they only planted two trees. Unless one of those trees is a twofer Toshi's been telling the truth about being an only child…and Toshi doesn't tell lies. They have this thing about honesty." Said Shimazaki
"Trees?" asked Mob
"Yeah, the trees at the house they grew up in. They killed their parents and used their body to fertilize some trees and…and they go there about once every year or so…." Said Shimazaki. He got a far off look on his face…which was good, actually, because he put some space between them. Not a lot but enough that she was at least breathing her own air again.
"Shimazaki….are you ok?" asked Mob
"Mob…you're a genius and I could kiss you right now…hell, I will kiss you right now! I mean if you want to, no pressure. I'm not like that, you know me." Said Shimazaki. Mob heard something break…and then the room smelled like vodka…and the cat ran away again. This time it tried to get out the door…which was closed…but she kind of wished that it had been opened….but also she was happy that it was closed. She didn't want anyone to see…there was nothing even to see!
Mob was NEVER kissing her best friend's boyfriend.
"I don't want to kiss you." Said Mob
"Understood…now come on. I know where Toshi is…or at least might be." Said Shimazaki. He got up and pulled her to her feet….and she knew that she should have been upset at being picked up but she was mostly just happy that she was breathing her own air and also…also that they weren't going to talk about kissing anymore.
Also he knew where Minegishi was!
"What are you waiting for? Come on, let's go! We'll take a plane or a train or a boat or a car or-or-or we could even ride dogs! I don't care, we just have to find Minegishi!" said Mob. She shook herself free and grabbed him by the wrist. That was mean, and she never should have been mean to her friend, but…but Shimazaki could forgive her for this…and if not they could talk about it later!
After they'd found Minegishi.
They didn't need a blood dog or a blood cat…and she'd have to have Sho come and get Cat….she had so much to think about. She didn't have to think about how she would find Minegishi….but now she had to think about what she would if, no, when she found them. They had run away from her and…and it hurt…they were her best friend but they had hurt her and…and she was not going to think about this now. She had to think about how she was going to move everyone…Serizawa didn't have another move in her and Mukai had been crying nonstop since they landed….everyone could stay behind….but she would be leaving her little brother all alone….Shimazaki could stay with him so he was happy and not missing her…so she would go alone and….
And maybe this was just one of those things that she had to do on her own.
Mob…she was the one in charge. She was the one who as responsible for all of her friends and her family…and being responsible didn't just mean that she got to pick where they went and what they did…she also had to make sure that everyone was happy and taken care of. She had been doing a pretty bad job of taking care of Minegishi….but she could do better….and she would not let herself be mad at them. Even if they had run away and left her…even if they had been a cheater…even if they had killed people before…they were still her best friend and that was what it meant to be someone's best friend. You accepted them for whoever and whatever they were….like how she used to think that Hatori was a cannibal before she learned the truth….she didn't want to know any more truths. She just wanted her friend back and then….and then all she wanted was for things to get back to normal….but that wouldn't happen until she found Minegishi. Mob had never tried to find anyone before…but she was going to try now…and she was going to succeed.
After all if she said that it was going to happen then it was going to happen, like dad had said. She was a Suzuki after all….and that was how it worked.