Dinner wasn't usually such a peaceful affair.

The dinners Suzuki shared with his family and various other associates, anyway. The meals he shared with Shiori had been incredibly peaceful. Just talking and eating, and television too which gave them something to talk about. No fighting, no whining, nobody getting up and storming away…those had been such good times. He wondered if she was eating dinner yet….he checked the time on his phone. Yes, she would have been sitting in front of her television with some sort of takeout container balanced on her lap watching….what premiered today? The new episode of either Love on a Bus or The Love Bus, he always got those two mixed up even though when you got down to it they were very different shows, Shiori had explained as such, one show involved contestants trapped on a bus with one other person and they had the entire trip to either fall in love or never meet again. The other was a show about a group of people trapped on a bus and whoever's relationship failed got thrown out and left on the side of the road.

He liked the second one better.

He still had his phone in his hand. There was a meal in front of him, lovingly prepared by Shigeko, and he would eat it…in a moment. He just had to ask Shiori how she was doing, how her show was going, how work had gone, if her starfish had regrown it's missing limb yet, what she thought about the state of the Japanese economy, what her thoughts on Buddhism as an extension of Shintoism were, if she was aware that people owning jellyfish as pets was a viable option, and also if she had ever found her other sock. She had lost one of her favorite socks, it was green and each individuall toe looked like a different cat, and the loss of that sock was very distressing to her…maybe while he was on his phone he could order her some more socks…he'd already sent a kilo of starfish food to her house and he'd gotten her a new set of glasses to replace the one he accidentally broke in a fit of uncharacteristic passion…maybe she needed new plates and cutlery as well to go along with her drinking glasses….

Shigeko's aura was on his.

He looked over towards her. She was watching him, serving herself, but also watching him. She had her telekinetic grasp on the ladle sticking out of the rice cooker, the chopsticks currently picking up a piece of rolled omelet, and the bottle pouring a glass of strawberry milk. Her control was amazing as always. Mukai was reaching out with her hands and her aura….her control…well he didn't have any notes on that since she barely had any powers. It might not have been anything to worry about, at least not at this age, since her mother didn't seem to be worried. She seemed more exhausted than anything, if the bags under her eyes were anything to go off of, not that he would draw attention to them. He knew better than to draw attention to a woman's physical flaws. He may not have been the most mannerly person but he knew what to and not to draw attention to.

Maybe he should have taught Shigeko the same lesson.

"Yes, Shigeko?" asked Suzuki. He remained calm. She had been staring at him…and she still was. Even though Mukai seemed very determined to steal her rice. That would have made a better topic of conversation, or maybe whatever Serizawa and Hatori were playing, anything other than who he had been talking to. Shigeko had drawn attention to it, the fact that he had been on his phone, and the next question out of her mouth could have been 'who are you talking to' which was a question which he just…could not answer at the present time.

There were some things that his children didn't need to know about.

Shiori was a woman and women knew about these things. She thought that this was not the time to introduce a new woman into the children's lives and he was going to do as she asked…even though the sooner they got used to her the better. She was going to be in his life for the rest of his life so, therefore, she was going to be in theirs as well. He had every intention of marrying her and, honestly, the children's opinions didn't factor into his decision. Well…maybe Shigeko's. He couldn't imagine marrying a woman who Shigeko didn't get along with. Mukai's opinion matter, too, but to a lesser extent since at her age she really didn't understand the concept of a stepmother. Sho's opinion didn't matter in the least. There was no dealing with that boy and his constant shouting and whining….

…which was somehow absent from this meal.

"Dad, no phones at the table. That's your rule." Said Mob as she pulled her rice bowl away from Mukai. She didn't know why Mukai wanted her rice when she had her own bowl right there, a Tangled on too because she liked Tangled better than Frozen for reasons Mob knew that she would never be able to understand, and she also didn't know why her dad had to be on his phone at the table. He was the one who was always on Sho to get off his phone, to stop drawing, and about a million other things that he wasn't supposed to do while he was at the table. Maybe that was only a rule when Sho was there. Hatori and Serizawa were playing Pokémon so maybe it was ok now…or maybe it was only ok when dad liked you.

"Rules are rules!" said Mukai as she reached across the table for the pretty bowl. Mama grabbed her arm, though, and made her sit back down! That was so mean! And this booster seat hurt! And she wanted rice! This was so mean!

"No touching other people's food, that's a rule too." Said Tsuchiya even though she knew that the minute she said anything she would be undermined. Sure enough her prediction came through. Shigeko's rice bowl slid across the table and wound up right in front of Mukai. President Suzuki's doing.

"Nobody goes hungry at my table, that's a rule as well." Said Suzuki. He was a man and he was going to do his job and provide for his offspring. Obviously Mukai was unusually hungry, which was why she was shoving both of her hands into her rice bowl….though why she then chose to throw the rice over at Hatori and Serizawa was beyond him…maybe she didn't like white rice? He made a mental note to look into different kinds of rice for her.

"That's a rule! That's a rule!" shouted Mukai as she threw rice at the people playing games at the table. No games! That's a rule!

"Mukai!" said Mob as she put up a barrier…a little too late. She could feel it, the sticky rice in her hair…but at least it was only a little bit…and also at least Sho wasn't there. Getting rice out of her hair was hard but getting it out of Sho's hair was impossible. He hated taking baths and washing his hair even though he was always getting dirty…she wondered if he was alright. He was all the way in Seasoning City and he probably didn't have any place to take a bath…and also he might have had to skip dinner…so he was somewhere alone, dirty, hungry, and also cheating on his girlfriend…she was such a bad big sister sometimes. She couldn't keep her little brother safe, she couldn't keep her little sister from throwing rice, and she couldn't keep two of her very good friends from getting covered in the rice that her little sister was throwing...

At least dinner had turned out ok…the parts that Mukai wasn't throwing.

"Stop throwing rice, that's a rule too." Said Tsuchiya as she took the rice away from Mukai. She was loving but firm, like all the books had advised, but all the loving but firm correction in the world couldn't undo whatever influence her father had over her.

"If you don't like rice then Shigeko can make you something else." Said Suzuki. He had never heard of someone not liking rice…but he had been told numerous times over the course of his life that not enjoying candy and other sweets was strange so she may have inherited some of the issues he had with tastes…not that rice had any kind of taste at all. Not the way that Shigeko made it, anyway.

"Want…waffles…and cake! And churros!" said Mukai. There. Those were good foods. Not this. Rice and fish and salad and pickles…no way!

"Shigeko, get to work." Said Suzuki. Mukai was hungry and, as the youngest member of the family, her needs took precedent over those of everyone else. Adults sacrificed for their children…and he wasn't even asking her to make any great sacrifice. Not really. She would eat the fruits of her labor but she would do so just a bit later than everyone else. That was just how it went when you were a mother. There had been plenty of meals in his childhood where he ate alone because father had requested something new for dinner and mother had to go into the kitchen and make it for him.

"Dad, I'm-" said Mob. She didn't want to cook anything else right now. She'd been making rice, frying fish, rolling omelets, and slicing pickles all day…and anyway she didn't even know if it was possible to even make a churro! She had only seen them a Disneyland…and she didn't want to go all the way to Disneyland to get churros.

"If you're making waffles can you put blueberries in mine?" asked Hatori. There hadn't been waffles in so long. Shibata was on a waffle strike since Shimazaki, again, thought that stealing the waffle maker and nearly burning the house down with everyone inside was a good idea.

"She hasn't even-" said Tsuchiya. Men! And yes, this was a men thing! There were, not counting her, three adults at that table and none of them could get up off their lazy asses to help? Shigeko, being the only female Suzuki, had enough on her plate already…she was so tired of this. Mukai…well she didn't know what she would do…but President Suzuki had better not have been planning on forcing Mukai to cook and clean and whatever else for him…though it didn't look like that. It looked more like he was planning on spoiling her rotten….how this man was allowed to have children she would never know.

"I-I'm happy with anything, Miss Suzuki! And I'm happy to help, too, since that's a lot of cooking…and you already did a lot of cooking." Said Serizawa. Friends helped friends out. He didn't know how to cook, he didn't even know how to make tea let alone a meal, but he did know how to do what he was told. Miss Suzuki needed help, she looked tired, and he wasn't tired so of course he would help her! And little Miss Suzuki, too, since she was the one who was unhappy with

"Yeah, she did do a lot of cooking. To make the meal that's sitting on the table right now." Said Tsuchiya

"I…guess I don't mind." Said Mob

"If you do just have Shibata come and make something, the kitchen is always a disaster area when he's done with it but he does enjoy cooking…for reasons I will never understand." Said Suzuki

"No! No Shibata! Ryou waffles! Ryou!" said Mukai. Ryou was the most fun person ever…but he wasn't here…but it was dinnertime! Ryou should have been here for dinner time!

"No, not that again. Ever." said Tsuchiya. Waking up to Mukai being gone…the house filling with smoke…all that screaming…no. That was never happening again.

"Shimazaki can't cook, Mukai, he's blind." Said Mob. He had said, before, that he knew how to cook…but if he knew how to cook then he wouldn't have accidentally set the house on fire so many times. She didn't want to bring it up to him, no, that would have been mean and she was never going to be mean to her friend.

"Is that why he almost bunt the house down again?" asked Serizawa. He wondered if it would have been ok to offer to help next time he saw Shimazaki trying to cook. He had no idea how to cook but he at least could see…or maybe that was mean, pointing out that there were things that he could do that Shimazaki couldn't. He'd have to ask Miss Suzuki about this later, she knew about these things.

"Yeah…don't have him cook anything, ever, for any reason. I like being alive." Said Hatori. Waking up to a house full of smoke…he was just not getting more than four hours of sleep a night. Shimazaki had done that to fuck with him…asshole that he was…

"Ryou! Ryou now! Over there…over here!" said Mukai as she pointed over to where Ryou's colors were.

"Shibata will do. The last person I want to deal with right now is Shimazaki Ryou…though I am curious how he manages to cook despite being blind…Shigeko, have Sho as Shimazaki how he can cook despite not being able to see what he's doing." Said Suzuki

"Ok, I'll ask him later when he gets home." Said Mob. She…maybe should have thought that through better. Maybe dad hadn't noticed that Sho was too far away to feel…but now he did. She could feel his aura looking around. She made her aura bigger…but that wouldn't stop dad from noticing that Sho was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he?" asked Suzuki. He felt around with his aura…Sho was out of his range and had been out of his range for some time…but that was normal. He knew that he should have been teaching Sho how to run Claw, he'd tried to teach the boy some years ago, but he hadn't been very receptive to learning and Suzuki hadn't had the patience to deal with Sho and his constant whining. Sho had taken to disappearing for most of the day but normally he was home in time for dinner…and normally he never wandered this far out of Suzuki's passive aural range, either.

"Shimazaki? I don't know." Said Mob. She wasn't so clueless that she didn't know who dad was talking about…and she also wasn't so clueless that she didn't know what dad would do if he found out that Sho had snuck off to a whole different city to go and see a boy. She knew what she had made dad promise…but she also knew how much a promise meant to dad. He had promised to love mom forever when he married her but, obviously, that hadn't meant much to him since Mukai was sitting right there at the table.

"He's at home. I don't know what he's doing there but he's at home…sorry." said Serizawa. He wondered if that was helpful…it probably wasn't. Everyone else could see auras too so he was just stating the obvious and being clueless….but he couldn't feel bad about himself now! Miss Suzuki's little brother was missing! The city was so big and he was out there on his own…he must have been so scared. Serizawa knew that if he were all alone in Tokyo then he would have been scared…even being here at the table was a little bit scary. The room was so bright and there weren't enough walls, he could see right over to the living room…but…but he was safe. Miss Suzuki was there and he knew that she would never have let anything bad happen to him.

"Don't talk about him or he's going to teleport in here and stir shit up like always." Said Hatori

"I know Shimazaki is next door, I can sense him. Sho…I have no idea where he is." Said Suzuki

"Maybe Fukuda knows! I mean since…since they're really good friends…that's all." said Serizawa. The President was looking at him, now, and…and he was happy that the President thought he was helpful. Well he assumed so, anyway, since he had been trying his best to be helpful. He just…wished that maybe the President blinked more when he looked at you…yes…that would have been good.

"No owies…all gone!" said Mukai as she held up her hand. The big owie was gone so she didn't need to see the owie man anymore. She put her hand right in mama's face so she could see.

"Yes Mukai, it's all gone now." Said Tsuchiya. She didn't want to think about it. Mukai with that burn on her hand…because she'd touched the waffle maker…because Tsuchiya had been asleep. Apparently Mukai didn't need sleep anymore and neither did a certain idiot she lived with…she was going to have to put locks on the doors, now, or something like that. Something to keep Mukai from hurting herself again.

"I'm not speaking to Fukuda right now." Said Suzuki lowly. No. They had spoken enough earlier to last a lifetime…they never needed to exchange words again…but then why did the prospect of never exchanging words with Fukuda again make him feel so…why did it make him feel anything?! And why was everyone staring at him!?

"Sho isn't with him anyway, I can sense Shimazaki but not Sho and…I have no idea where he is…but if he's on his own then he's most likely in some kind of danger and I should-" said Suzuki. He wanted to get up and leave. He didn't really want to go and turn over every single stone until he found his wayward son…but it would have been better than having everyone stare at him while he had emotions he didn't even know the names of let alone what he was supposed to do with them…

"Sho isn't in danger! He's….he's…" said Mob. She needed to think up a lie and she needed to think one up quick. The only problem was that she didn't know how to lie. She had never been a much of a liar, friends were never supposed to lie to friends and family was never supposed to lie to family, but right now it was better to lie than to let her little brother get into trouble!

"Your brother is?" asked Suzuki

"He's…out catching Pokémon?" said Mob. That was the best that she could come up with. Hatori and Serizawa hadn't quit their game. She could see their screens and…well Sho liked Pokémon too…not that much but he did like it….and….well she hadn't ever lied to her dad before!

"Mama! I want to watch Pokémon! On the TV! Right now!" said Mukai as she turned around and tugged as hard as she could on mama's shirt.

"You know what Mukai? That was a full sentence so you've earned some TV time….right now. Excuse me everyone." Said Tsuchiya. Nobody stopped her from getting up and collecting Mukai…good. She didn't know what she would have done if she'd been stopped but she did know that she did NOT want Mukai having cake and whatever else she had asked for instead of an actual dinner…and also, and more selfishly, she didn't want to share a table with President Suzuki. She knew that this was the highest honor in Claw and anyone else would have killed for her spot…but anyone else could have gladly had it.

"Good, Shibata can destroy his own kitchen cooking for her. Anyway, Shigeko, what is your brother out there doing?" asked Suzuki as Mukai was carried away. He didn't think that dinner needed to be interrupted for whatever that was but mother knew best….and also that had been her most coherent sentence yet and that deserved a reward.

"He's out catching Pokémon and probably won't be home until late…because there are a lot of Pokémon out in the world to catch. I think that there's maybe almost seven hundred different kinds. Pokémon is a game where you catch these little monster….animal…things and then you make them fight." Said Mob

"That sounds a bit cruel for your brother." Said Suzuki. Sho was a bleeding heart when it came to the welfare of animals. He couldn't imagine his son ever going out of his way to play a game where you forced them to fight for your amusement.

"I…never thought of it like that…" said Mob. That wasn't good. She had thought up a terrible lie…and…and now she had no time to think up a better one. She needed to…to buy herself more time or-

"It's not…mean…I mean. Because they aren't real and also they don't die and if they get hurt then you…you can take them to the Pokémon center and…um…." Said Serizawa. Miss Suzuki had been upset so he had tried to step in and help…but once he started talking he realized that he'd bitten off a lot more than he could chew. He just ran out of words towards the end…and now the President was staring at him…

"It's really fun, and in a way you'd like, too." Finished Hatori. Poor Serizawa…well at least he tried, that was what mattered. He was getting a lot better at talking to people…maybe they could include Sho in their game. Hatori knew he played Pokémon but he hadn't known that he was into it. It sounded like he was playing Pokémon Go…why he would play that of all games Hatori did not know….he'd have to do something about Sho's taste in games. It was nearly as bad as his dad's.

"Is it?" asked Suzuki. Well if Hatori thought that it was fun then…well he would believe him. Just a bit. He had some strange ideas about games but…well he could also be very trustworthy.

"Here, dad, switch places with me. Hatori…you and Serizawa can teach dad about Pokémon. I'm going to…um…make that cake now." Said Mob as she got up. She didn't feel like baking a cake, actually what she wanted to do was eat the food that she had cooked already, but she knew dad. She knew what it meant when his eyes got like that and his aura got all focused. That was the same face he made when he played Minecraft. Good. Dad needed the distraction….even if now he was going to end up ruining Pokémon for her just like he'd ruined Minecraft.

"I would be…amenable to that…" said Suzuki as he got up and did as his daughter asked. He would just watch…for a moment….but then he would get back to dinner. He had so much to do and he shouldn't have wasted time playing games…but leisure pursuits were…good for his mind? He didn't know. He'd justify this later…not that he even knew who he was justifying all of this to. He didn't know why he even needed to justify this to anyone or…or even himself. He was Suzuki Touichirou and he could do whatever he wanted.

And what he wanted to do was watch….whatever this game was.

He had been aware of it's existence, the children played these games, but he had never looked into it. It had always seemed so childish…but some childish things could be enjoyed. He was Suzuki Touichirou and he could enjoy whatever he wanted to enjoy. He wanted to enjoy videogames and…and that was it. He didn't think, not once, that Fukuda would have enjoyed this. There was the collecting aspect, which he liked, but also the fighting aspect which they both liked. Not that he cared about Fukuda or what he liked or wanted or…or anything about him. He didn't care at all. What he cared about was…was having a pleasant and peaceful meal…and that was what he was doing. Right now.

A peaceful meal was the very least that he could have asked for.