Suzuki could be a weirdly good dad sometimes.
He wasn't a bad dad…well he was…but not like a BAD dad. He didn't really take good care of his kids, mostly Sho, but he didn't starve him or abandon him…or do any of the things that Shimazaki liked to tell stories about from his childhood, so he wasn't that bad. He wasn't that great but he wasn't that bad. Maybe he was average since he was a bad dad to Sho but a good dad to Mob…and a really good dad to Mukai. Yeah, maybe it did average out….or something….
Hatori didn't know. He wasn't that good at math.
"Higher! Now!" shouted Mukai as she chased a bright pink plastic plane up and down the hallway outside of Suzuki's office. He had a few others in the air, too, but she was chasing this one. This was…kind of weird. Suzuki was always going on about how busy everything was but here he was playing with Mukai….Hatori almost wanted to turn back around and hang out in the office he shared with Fukuda until it was time to go home.
Almost. He had something important to talk about.
"How high should we fly, do you think? Should we fly high or fast? Though to fly fast we do need to fly high." Said Suzuki
"Fast! Fast and high! Right now!" shouted Mukai. She clapped her hands and jumped up and down…she was such a cute kid. She was loud, too, and liked to get into people's things and get her sticky but also somehow greasy and wet little fingers all over everything. Hatori…he liked her enough…not as much as Suzuki did, though, Suzuki loved her the most out of maybe all of his kids…which was good for Mukai but also not that good for Mob…but he still loved Mob, he must have.
If he didn't then Hatori had no idea what he was going to do.
It wasn't like he could do anything, and especially not to Shimazaki. Ignoring the difference in their powers Shimazaki was also bigger and stronger than he was…and he wasn't afraid to hurt people if he had to. Hatori knew that if he walked up to Shimazaki and told him to stop teasing Mob, or whatever he was doing, then he'd just end up either flat on his ass or teleported into the middle of the ocean or something. No, he needed someone who Shimazaki was afraid of. He needed the one person who could actually hurt Shimazaki. He needed Suzuki.
But Suzuki was…a little bit busy right now.
"What sort of airplane is this? Is this is a passenger plane or the sort that does tricks?" asked Suzuki
"Tricks! Do tricks!" shouted Mukai
"How about a barrel roll? How about this?" asked Suzuki as he made the plane do a barrel roll. None of the dolls inside fell out…well of course they didn't. This was Suzuki. He was, supposedly, the most powerful esper in the world. He was good with telekinesis…and everything else…and hopefully that everything else would be enough to put some fear into Shimazaki. Some fear and maybe a few non-lethal injuries too. He didn't want Shimazaki dead, no, he just wanted him hurt in some way…for messing with Mob. He had been so touchy with her lately, so clingy, and Shibata had said that he'd been this was with her before, to tease her, and Mob…she didn't need to be teased….and Shimazaki needed to learn not to treat people like that. He thought that he could treat anyone he wanted any way he wanted. He thought he could do whatever he wanted because he was bigger and stronger than everyone else, well most everyone else, and that nobody could do a damn thing to stop him. Well fuck that shit! Shimazaki…he'd had this coming for years now….he'd been asking for a good beat down for years…
Not that this was personal, no, this was…for Mob….and her wellbeing…yes, that and only that.
"Should we land the plane now, Mukai?" said Suzuki. He hadn't noticed Hatori yet. No, he was too busy playing with Mukai. They were playing airport or something. There were a bunch of dolls and doll planes everywhere. Tsuchiya was off to the side doing that thing she did when she got a headache. Hatori didn't blame her, Mukai had been screaming so loud he'd been able to hear her from the stairs.
Good screaming, though.
"Time to land! Right now! Over there!" laughed Mukai as she pointed down at the ground. Suzuki nodded and then one of the planes came down for a landing. Mukai picked up a plastic dinosaur and chased it the whole way.
"Gonna eat you! Godzilla! Gonna eat you!" shouted Mukai as she chased the plane. Suzuki…actually smiled at her. Not like a big smile or anything but more of a smile than he usually gave. He was weird when he smiled…like…Hatori knew he was capable of feeling happiness but he never usually showed it…and not usually about one of his kids.
No, usually his kids made him frown.
Well Sho, mostly, Suzuki wasn't much of a dad to Sho. Hatori wasn't anyone's dad, and he never wanted to be, but he knew that you weren't supposed to treat you kid the way Suzuki treated Sho. Mob…he was a good dad to Mob…well when he was her dad. He treated her like she was a lot older than she was but at least he didn't dislike her like he did with Sh. He loved Mukai, though, a lot. Like more than Hatori had ever seen him like one of his kids.
He'd never seen him playing with either of his other kids before…he had to immortalize this.
"Is Godzilla going to eat the plane? Is he really going to, do you think?" asked Suzuki. He was still smiling…and he still hadn't noticed Hatori. His entire aura, his entire self, was focused on Mukai. She was running around trying to smash the dinosaur into the plane now and shouting. Suzuki hated loud noises, and anything annoying, but he wasn't telling her off or anything.
Yeah, Hatori really needed to immortalize this.
He held his phone out and captured this touching family moment. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with it yet, probably hold onto it forever since it was proof that Suzuki knew how to smile, or maybe he could send it to Mob since she was his favorite, well second favorite, kid now. He wondered how Mob felt about all of this. She had said before that she thought it was weird, the way Suzuki was with Mukai, and she'd been really down for a while now…maybe this was it…he didn't know. She hadn't been really talkative lately. Actually she'd been really busy…
Which made sense. There were about a million and one things that needed to be done around here and about a million and one others that should have been done already…fuck….he was starting to sound like Fukuda!
"Yes! Yes! Yes!" said Mukai. Suzuki slowed the plane down and Mukai immediately jumped on it. She made roaring sounds and crashes the dinosaur onto it. He wondered if she wanted a real Godzilla toy for her birthday…when was that again? The closest birthday was Shimazaki's…not that he was getting that asshole anything….then Sho's…then it was Christmas….he'd worry about that later. Suzuki was done, now, or at least he wasn't actively playing with her. The planes above his head were still flying but he was just sort of staring at Mukai…but not his usual sort of analytical staring, not like he was trying to put her under a microscope or anything. No, this was good staring.
Loving staring.
The stare he gave Hatori, however, was anything but loving. He shoved his phone into the front pocket of his hoodie and started walking over to Suzuki. He gave Tsuchiya a little wave as he passed her. She nodded and went back to holding her head. He was careful not to step on Mukai as he walked over her. He didn't know what Suzuki would do to him if he stepped on his daughter but he knew it wouldn't have been anything good.
Probably not as bad as what he did to people who hit on his daughter, though.
"What is it, Hatori?" asked Suzuki. He was back to normal now…but that was ok. Hatori didn't need Suzuki to be happy to see him…it would have been nice…but Suzuki not hitting him over the head was even nicer. He hit him sometimes but never out of anger, only annoyance, so that was ok….ok-ish? That was just how he was…and it could be a good thing so long as it was directed at the right person…and Hatori knew just who the right person was.
"I just wanted to talk to you." Said Hatori
"If this is a social call can it wait? I'm very busy right now with…very important….things….come back later." Said Suzuki. Hatori would have if he could but he couldn't. Fukuda was off on his lunchbreak now, well he was trying to track down Sho so they could have lunch together…weirdness which Hatori would bring up to Suzuki later. Right now he had the much more pressing matter of Shimazaki's weirdness to attend to…and he had to attend to it now. Before Fukuda came back and said some shit to Suzuki about whatever weirdness he thought about Mob.
God…that fucking guy….but whatever. He wasn't here now, Suzuki was here, and he was the person Hatori needed to think about…not in a weird way, though.
"You die now! You die now too! Over there!" shouted Mukai as she smashed her plastic dinosaur into her doll plane.
"I would if I could but I just wanted to talk to you about…um…you want to talk in your office?" asked Hatori. He didn't know how much Mukai understood but this didn't seem like the kind of thing to talk about in front of her. Also he knew that Tsuchiya would freak out. She always freaked out when some of their usual weirdness popped up and this was way more than their usual weirdness. He knew that she'd probably bring the whole thing up to Minegishi and then they'd fight with Shimazaki and maybe leave again…and then Mob would end up freaking out and Mob didn't need that. She had enough going on in her life already without more drama being added on top of it.
"I can't leave. Mukai and I are…very busy here." Said Suzuki
"Ok…um…I just wanted to ask you…um…how Mob was doing." Said Hatori. At the mention of Mob the planes in the air fell, briefly, before they were caught again. Mukai noticed and started jumping up and down. Suzuki didn't pay any attention to her, no, his full attention was on Hatori….
Hatori had forgotten just how intense Suzuki could get.
"Shigeko? What about Shigeko? Is she alright? Is she hurt? Where is she?" asked Suzuki. He was out of breath by the end of that…and his aura was kind of painful to stand next to…but he hadn't hurt Hatori and that was what mattered.
"Mob's….hang on…let me see." Said Hatori as he pulled out his phone. It wasn't hard to find her, she wasn't exactly hiding from him. She was…oh, yeah, she was fine.
"Well?" asked Suzuki
"She's fine. She's at this bookstore with Minegishi." Said Hatori
"Yes…she did mention something about having plans with them…something about manga for the blind…I'm assuming for Shimazaki's birthday." Said Suzuki. His voice dropped when he said Shimazaki's name. Good.
"Yeah, his birthday's coming up. Anyway-" said Hatori
"If you knew where she was then why did you mention her? You made me think….never mind what you made me think." Said Suzuki
"I was just worried about her. Hasn't she been…different…lately? You know, kind of down and clingy?" asked Hatori
"She's menstruating right now." Said Suzuki. Tsuchiya looked up and stared…Hatori stared. That was…a thing that he knew happened to Mob…but it was none of his business! And it was none of Suzuki's business! And…and this was not something that he wanted to talk about….and he knew without asking, not that he would ever ask, that Mob would NOT have wanted her dad and her friend to stand around discussing her….lady times…
"Right now! Menstruating! Right now!" shouted Mukai. Tsuchiya got down on Mukai's level and started shushing her. That was…probably the right thing to do. He knew that Mob was out right now but he half expected her to come rounding the corning right in the middle of…whatever the hell this was.
"I…didn't need to know that…and neither did you! How do you even…why do you…why do you know about that?!" asked Hatori. Suzuki reached into his phone and clicked opened….ok…now that was just weird. Hatori didn't have any daughters or sisters but he knew that you were NOT supposed to have an app that tracked all of the…lady times….
"There's a app for that." Said Suzuki
"Why…why do you have that?" asked Hatori
"For my own sanity. I love Shigeko but she becomes very emotional during these times and she can be a bit much to deal with." Said Suzuki
"That's…I guess that makes sense…but I don't think that you should ever let Mob know that you have that." Said Hatori
"Why? She knows that I know-" said Suzuki
"It's private and she doesn't want her DAD knowing. No girl would." Said Tsuchiya as Mukai hit her over the head with a doll.
"Thank you." Said Suzuki
"Wait, you'll listen to her but not me?" asked Hatori
"She's a woman and women know about these things….and the last thing that I need is to upset Shigeko….now if this is all you wanted to discuss-" said Suzuki
"No! No way! I mean…no way did I come here to talk about Mob's….whatever times. I just wanted….um…to know if you noticed that Mob was being weird-" said Hatori
"I know why she's acting the way she is. Now that this is settled-" said Suzuki
"No, it's not…just….have you noticed anything weird between Mob and Shimazaki? How he's been with her, I mean." Said Hatori. Suzuki…was not happy…at all. Any happiness that he'd had from playing with Mukai was gone, now, and replaced by…anger? His aura was…not good….painful…and his eyes were narrowed…and his hands were balled into fists….
This may not have been the best idea.
"There is nothing going on between my daughter and Shimazaki Ryou." Said Suzuki
"I didn't say that I knew anything for sure. I just meant that it's been kind of weird the way he's always hanging off of her and kissing her and shit-stuff! And stuff!" said Hatori. That didn't help. If anything he just made it worse…at least Tsuchiya wasn't paying attention. Mukai was throwing things and shouting…at least she wasn't paying much attention to this shit show….at least there wouldn't be any new drama between her and Minegishi…Mob didn't need that…especially not if…Suzuki was right about certain things.
"…I have noticed." Said Suzuki
"Are you….are you going to kick his ass? I mean beat him up. Are you going to beat him up, maybe break a few bones or-" said Hatori
"No." said Suzuki
"What?" asked Hatori. This was…not normal. Suzuki loved Mob and he hated, well severely disliked, Shimazaki. He should have killed Shimazaki the minute he started teasing Mob….but now he was just….doing nothing? This guy? The same Suzuki who slapped him over the head hard enough that his glasses nearly broke because he accidentally flooded his Minecraft tunnels with lava that one time?
"I know your eyes barely work but don't tell me that your hearing is going as well." Said Suzuki
"No, I heard you. I just meant that….that it's not like you not to do anything. That's like your whole thing, you get stuff done, and you don't let people fuck with-mess with! Mess with you or your family or Claw or…or anything." Said Hatori
"Well I cannot, now can I? Shigeko…she's old enough to make her own choices and…and she can do better than him…and if she doesn't want better then she doesn't want better so…so that's the way it is. If you have nothing else then please leave me to my work." Said Suzuki. Hatori wondered if he might have been going deaf….or losing his mind. That was…the craziest thing that he'd ever heard. Mob was TWELVE. She couldn't….she didn't…she had no idea…he had no idea….nobody had any idea….
Hatori needed to stay calm.
Suzuki was a friend…but he was still Suzuki. He could and would fuck you up. He didn't even need a reason. Sometimes he just felt like hurting people…that was normal for him. He…he didn't need to be on the receiving end of it….Shimazaki did! But Suzuki…even if Mob had a crush on Shimazaki, which if she did then that was her business, she was twelve and he was in his thirties! He should have known better than to mess with her…or get feeling for her….oh God….
Hatori did his best to stay calm.
"Wait, are you being seri-" said Hatori as Mukai ran over and grabbed Suzuki around his legs. He reached down and patted her on the head.
"Fly the plane…you fly the plane! You fly high….I fly high! Over there!" said Mukai as she tugged on Suzuki's pant legs.
"I assure you that I am…now leave me to my work. My daughter needs me." Said Suzuki. Hatori nodded and got going. He didn't say a word about the other daughter that needed him. Mob…she needed her dad….unless…no. There wasn't any unless. She was….even what was happening to her…was happening…she still didn't need Shimazaki teasing her…or not. Hatori hoped that Shimazaki was just teasing her and not….and not that he had real feelings for her….
Hatori had to do something.
Well what he wanted to do was run and hide. Just somewhere small and safe until the crushing feeling in his chest went away. The underside of his desk was nice…he needed to stop doing that. He needed to stop running and hiding….and he needed….well he needed to do something…but Suzuki wasn't listening to him. He listened to Hatori sometimes but not that often, not as often as he listened to…yeah. Fukuda. Hatori….he didn't want to involve Fukuda but…but it looked like he had to….someone had to. Someone had to do something….to convince Suzuki to do sometimes…..and that somebody was…well….Fukuda.
Suzuki was a good dad sometimes….but not all the time.