Off To the Races

by Green Kneesocks

Kageyama Hana and her husband, Ichimaro, loved their daughter, they really did, but they could not take care of her. Not when they had a son to worry about. Giving her up was the best thing for everyone. Suzuki Touichirou especially. Fem!Mob Mob raised in Claw AU. Chapter 663 has been rewritten!

663. Stabbing (Re-written)

A/N Hi everyone! I redid this chapter since the last version was way too non-con. I've been meaning to do a Mob/Teru non-con but this didn't seem like the place for it. Anyway here's the newer version of this chapter.

Seasoning City wasn't that much different than Tokyo.

There were fewer people, true, but they pushed just as hard as the ones in Tokyo could. Mob almost never took trains, not unless she was going somewhere with Minori and they had to sneak away from her guards, but when she did people always pushed her. It was almost like they couldn't see her. People would bump into her and then look all around before they looked down and saw her. She didn't think that she was that short, she wasn't as small as Mukai anyway, but people still didn't see her sometimes. Like how it could be really easy to trip over Mukai. She liked to crawl around on the floor and when you weren't paying attention it was easy to step on her. She didn't have much of an aura and she was tiny, too. Mob wasn't tiny and she had an aura…

But these were normal people.

There, on every single side of her, were normal people. Boys and girls, moms and dads, even little babies…she didn't spend a lot of time around babies. Little ones, anyway, Mukai was still kind of a baby. There was a baby being pushed in a stroller. Mob couldn't slow down to smile and wave at it. There were too many people walking on either side of her. She had no choice but to be swept away in the crowd. She wondered where everyone was going. It must have been good because everyone was walking in the same direction without any care at all that they were pushing her along.

Oh. Everyone was just leave.

There it was, the front door. Sun came through the glass and got her right in the eyes. She looked down and took a deep breath. The crowd started to clear out as she was pushed through the doors. She shouldn't have been so surprised that nobody saw her. She was called Mob after all. The other kids had called her that because she was so forgettable…unnoticeable….like a background character….

She was a background character here.

She was surrounded by normal people….and they thought that she was one of them. They didn't know who she was, what she was. She never spent time with normal people who weren't Minori and Minori was only allowed to go to a few places. Mob was always near her friends when she went out but now…now she'd left everyone behind. She'd had no choice. She had to find Sho and she had to drag him home.

It was for his own good.

Mob had no idea where she was going but she knew that it had to be away from here. She had to find Sho. It was for his own good. If he got caught here then dad would know exactly why he'd come and then there would be another fight. She knew what she had promised, that she'd take Sho and leave dad if dad ever hit him again, and she knew that it was the right thing to do…but she didn't want to leave her dad. She didn't want to break their family apart any more than it already had been. She didn't want to become half of the Suzuki family. They were already three quarters of the family…or maybe more since they had Mukai now…but she was called Sagami and also she had a different mom….Mob would figure this out later. It wouldn't matter what percent of the family they were if she had to run away from dad with Sho…or if Sho had no plans of coming back….if he'd run away forever…

If Sho ran away then she was going to have to find him and drag him home….for his own good.

Mob took a deep breath and started walking. She felt around with her aura. She knew that there was a Division here. She knew that there were espers around. If she got caught here then she could always tell dad that she was here to have a Christmas party or something with the Awakened that stayed in the Seventh Division while it was being put back together. There weren't a lot of them but someone had to stay and guard it. Yes, dad would believe that…not that she wanted to lie to him…

But the truth…well the truth had to stay a secret.

She pushed her aura out even farther. She didn't know what she would say or do to get Sho to come back. She was interfering with love. That wasn't right. She had no idea what was happening in Sho's life. She had no idea why he had decided out of nowhere to come here and see his boyfriend. She knew what it was like to be in love, she knew what it was like to leave the person she loved behind, and she knew how to deal with those feelings. It helped if you remembered that if you loved someone then you let them go. Teru was probably a lot happier here without her to put him in danger and Sho's boyfriend was probably a lot happier being safe where it was that he was hiding…where he wasn't in danger….

There was a lot of danger in Claw.

Mob knew that, well dad had explained, that sometimes you had to do things that were dangerous and illegal in order to take over the world. The ends justified the means. That was why it was ok that dad hid the money Claw made, was mean to the yakuza people to get them to do what he wanted, and sometimes even stole money and property and stuff from people. He was going to become the king of the world anyway, he had said, and when that happened it would be ok because everything in the world would be his. She didn't like the stealing. She didn't like it at all but she would just give it all back once Claw took over the world.

You could give back money and houses and stuff but you couldn't give back people.

The purpose of Claw wasn't just to help dad take over the world but also to bring all the espers in the world together. That was what would happen when it was all over….and that would take a lot of time…and in that time a lot of espers were going to be recruited. Sometimes dad had to recruit people kicking and screaming, like when she had to get Sho in the bath. People didn't always know what was good for them, dad had said, like when she had to get Sho in the bath because he smelled so bad that you had to cover your nose when he got too close. Sho didn't always know what was good for him like all people had trouble knowing what was good for them. Dad knew what was good for everyone…well most everyone…

You couldn't give back a person.

Sometimes dad tried to recruit kids. Some of the kids were orphans like Hatori was. His parents had died in a fire, he knew because he was there, and he was most certainly an orphan. It was ok to recruit orphans kicking and screaming because being in Claw was better than being in an orphanage. They were cold and scary and smelled like old milk. She wished that all the orphans in the world were espers. That way she could adopt them all and they could be her kids. Lots of orphans were normal people, though, and lots of kids with families were espers….and it wasn't ok to recruit them kicking and screaming. Teru had a family and no matter what she did she couldn't take back dad's orders….and Sho's boyfriend had a family too…and the last thing that she wanted to do was break up families. That was why she never even tried to find Teru, not even on Instagram, because she would put him in danger…she knew this without ever needing to be told…but maybe she should have told Sho. Maybe she should have told Sho over and over again until it set in. His boyfriend was in danger so long as he was near…and Sho himself was in danger the longer he was in this city. She pushed her aura out even more. She cared about Sho's boyfriend but she cared about Sho more, he was her little brother after all, and she couldn't put anyone above him.

She didn't think that she could and, anyway, she didn't want to…even though Sho put her through things like this…

But that was ok. She loved him. She loved him and when you loved someone then you went through anything for them. Even walking around in the cold trying to find….hey! She felt…there. Two bright auras. She could sort of feel them. She knew Sho. She had been his sister since the day that she had been born. She could recognize him from even his far away…..him and….that other aura felt familiar…very familiar…

It didn't matter who that other aura belonged to. The only thing that mattered was that she'd found her little brother…and that she was on her way.

Nothing was going to stop her now.

"Nothing's going to stop me now." Said Sho as he, once again, beat big sis's sort of boyfriend. FIFA was boring as hell but it was worth it so long as he got to see Ritsu…even though it had been a while…but Teru said that Ritsu was busy with his family. Dad used to take him and big sis with him when he went to meetings and did other parent stuff. He knew how long it could take…and he knew that he could be patient…

He had no other choice.

"You'd think so." Said Teru as he closed the gap in his defense that he hadn't noticed. Damn it. He had been too busy, again, trying to find some kind of strategy in Sho's game play. There wasn't any. It helped, of course, because most of the time he lost…but sometimes he won….and Teru couldn't let him win. No way. There was no way in hell he was losing to Sho…or to anyone! The last thing he needed when he saw Shigeko again for the first time in forever was the stench of failure clinging to him like cheap cologne.

Wait….he had some of the nice stuff around…right?

Teru wished that he'd known in advance that he would have been able to see her again. He would have put together an outfit in her favorite color…whatever that was…and he'd have had her favorite song playing…maybe something from Frozen…and he would have had her favorite snacks too….whatever those were. He didn't know much about her but now…now he would. Now he'd be able to get to know her and….and he could hide her in here or they could run away together or-

Damn it!

"You cheated!" said Teru

"Did not. You were just zoning out. I can't control your stupid brain." Said Sho

"Stupid!? You just…you got lucky." Said Teru

"Yeah, maybe, or maybe I'm just better at this than you." Said Sho

"There is no way in hell that you can possibly be better than me at this. I play this for at least an hour a day-" said Teru

"An hour? No wonder you suck! When I play videogames I actually play them." Said Sho

"Which means?" asked Teru

"Until my eyes bleed and my fingers get stuck in claws." Said Sho. He held up his hand and turned his fingers into hooks. He hated it when his hands got stuck like that, when big sis asked him to hang out with Serizawa and somehow they managed to play videogames all day without noticing. When he looked out the window and saw that the sun had gone down. His eyes never really bled, of course, but he had come pretty close. It had been great. Teru was such a weirdo. He had no idea why big sis liked this guy.

"Gross." Said Teru. How could this guy have possibly been related to Shigeko? He had none of her…Shigeko-ness. She was quiet and sweet and just…not this guy. He had no idea what Ritsu even saw in this guy.

"Weirdo." Said Sho

"There's nothing weird about not wanting to strain my eyes. That's how you get bags, wrinkles, and crow's feet." Said Teru. He reached up and felt the sides of his face just to make sure…he knew that he was twelve but it was never too early to start taking care of yourself. That way when you got old, like when you were twenty or something, you didn't look super old like you were thirty or something. He wondered what Shigeko's skincar eregmine was like. She had really clear skin, pale too, but she had been wering a lot of…

What…

What?

That was…he felt something. He sat up. It had felt like Shigeko had been right there beside him. Like she had leaned over and rested her head on his shoulders like girls did when they wanted to kiss. Not that he wouldn't have kissed Shigeko if she had been there. He would have kissed her and made out with her and whatever else she wanted to do…if she had been there. That moment when he'd felt her…he could have excused that one moment. He could have assumed that it was because he hadn't had much rest…or because of the fact that he'd been thinking about her all day….but the feeling didn't go away. It came back….

And it stayed.

"You're so weird. No wonder my sister-fuck!" said Sho. He knew what that feeling was. Big sis's aura. He had to get the fuck out of here. He jumped up and knocked over Teru's tiny table. He knew what he'd felt…and he could feel it getting closer. Big sis was coming. She didn't know how to teleport but she did know how to move really fast….

He had to get out of here.

"What the hell!?" asked Teru as two of his teacups shattered under his table…which Sho had decided to flip over. Damn it…now it wasn't a set. Now he was going to have to either see if he could get two matching teacups or…or he'd just have to get a new set…but he didn't have time for that! He could feel Shigeko getting closer and now he had no teacups…well he did….but now everything was a mess! It was a mess and…and he would deal with that in a minute. Right now he had to keep Sho from leaving. He was running to the door now and Teru had to do something to stop him.

He could jump too.

"What the fuck!?" said Sho as Teru tackled him to the ground. Sho went down…but only because he'd been taken by surprise! He rolled out from under Teru as soon as he realized what was happening. He hadn't ever fought anyone his own size before…but that was a good thing! He kicked Teru in the chest to get him off….and Teru rolled away….

But now Sho was free!

"Wait!" said Teru as he rolled away from what looked like it would have been a really hard kick. Fine. If Sho wanted to play dirty then Teru could play dirty.

"Let go of me!" shouted Sho as Teru tried to hold him in place with his powers. This was…kind of fun…but this was also NOT the time for a play fight! It was kind of nice to have another boy to fight with…Shimazaki was a guy but he was also twice Sho's height and weight. Teru put up a fight almost as well as Shimazaki could…but Sho was better…and anyway he didn't have time for this shit! Big sis was coming in fast!

"Wait! You can't go!" said Teru as Sho broke through his telekinetic hold…how was he that strong? Well Ritsu could too but not that easy….no matter, no matter. He was Hanazawa Teruki. He didn't lose. He was the main character and the main character could not lose. That was the first rule of good storytelling.

"Why the fuck not! My sister's coming! If she finds me then I'm fucked!" said Sho as he kicked Teru into the wall. A bunch of shoes slid out of the way…he had way too many shoes in this genkan…but Sho could use this! He started picking up shoes with his powers and throwing them at Teru…but then that bitch bastard just put up a barrier.

"That's the point!" shouted Teru as he was nearly beaten to death with his own shoes. Fucking Sho…those would take forever to reorganize! He'd had those in order of how often he worse them. Now he was going to have to spend God only knew how long fixing them…well at least Sho had stopped.

"What…?" asked Sho. The shoes that he'd been about to beat some sense into Teru with hung in the air. Big sis was close…but apparently that was the point. Sho…Sho couldn't believe…he could still hear the TV going in the background….they'd spent all day playing videogames together. Sure it hadn't been that much fun but…but playing videogames all day with someone definitely had to count for something. Especially if he'd been playing with his boyfriend's best friend…that had to mean something….

Yeah, it meant something. It meant that Sho had to be a hell of a lot more careful who he trusted.

"I just meant….I mean what I mean to say was-" said Teru. He had no idea what he was supposed to say to get out of this, Sho did legitmatley look ready to mess him up, not that he would have. Not that Teru was afraid of Sho. He wasn't afraid of anything….most anything. He was going to talk his way out of this, Reigen had always said that there was no problem that a person couldn't talk their way out of, and he would have been able to if he'd had more time.

But his door opening on it's own…well he hadn't had much time to think after that.

Mob knew that it was rude to open people's doors without knocking.

But she'd heard fighting and she'd felt and seen her little brother's aura. She knew when he was in trouble and, of course, she was going to save him. She had been ready to do things she hated, like yell at people and maybe hit them if she had to, but when the door opened…well she didn't want to anymore. It was like all the feelings in her body, good and bad, had decided to freeze.

So her body had done the same.

"Shigeko…" said Teru. She was standing right there in his apartment. She was just like he remembered her. The prettiest girl that he had ever seen. Her aura…cyan and bubblegum pink. The contrast, that was it, the contrast of her aura brought out everything in her. The way she contradicted herself…no…the way she was such a contradictory person…Teru wasn't going to say that. He had to think up something good, something like 'you complete me' or 'you are my everything' or 'nice to see you again'….actually not that last one, that was stupid…and the others had come from movies. He couldn't risk using a line from a movie. Not when she might have seen it and then if she knew the quote she'd think that he was stupid and-

-and how there was a foot in his face.

Right. He'd been in the middle of a fight. He took a foot to the face…but not another. She reached out and her entire aura just spread out like angels' wings…you're like an angel? That might have been…no, no, no. He could do better. He'd have to think of something better…

Maybe he would think better if he got up off the floor.

"Teru…." Said Mob. There he was…he was there and…and Sho was hitting him?!

"Fuck you! Fuck you up your-" said Sho as he kicked Teru again. That one landed. The next one…the next one didn't….fuck big sis!

"Sho! Stop it!" said Mob. She didn't know what was going on but she knew that she didn't want her little brother to be in the middle of a fight with her sort of boyfriend…boy she liked…boy she knew that she shouldn't have been looking at. She needed to focus her attention on Sho. He needed her and…and she had to think about him and what he needed. She had to put her little brother first. She couldn't think of anything else….

She could think of a few other things…but Sho came first!

"Stop it…you stop it! Just….get the fuck out of here!" said Sho as he got to his feet. He couldn't help it, he pushed big sis….well he tried to. She put up a barrier and he couldn't even make it ripple.

"Hey! Don't push-" said Teru. No way. You were not supposed to push girls, not unless you were in preschool or something and didn't know any other way to show them you liked them, and either way they were siblings…they didn't look a thing alike but he was going to take their word for it. He maybe shouldn't have been getting in the middle of a sibling fight but he had to defend her. She was his…potential girlfriend/love of his life. Yeah, that fit.

"Don't tell me what to do you-you-you betrayer! You betrayed me! You used me to get to my sister!" shouted Sho. He turned around and pointed at Teru…and he didn't even try to defend himself….well then fuck him! He was going to tell Ritsu, right to his face, that his best friend was a liar, a betrayer, and was boring as hell!

If he ever saw Ritsu again….

"Sho, I came here on my own…and don't shout." Said Mob. She lowered her voice. She had to be calm. If she got upset then Sho would get even more upset. She closed the door with her powers. She had to keep quiet and…and Teru was still looking at her. She could see him if she looked past Sho…but she couldn't look past Sho. He was her little brother and she…she was so close to Teru…she could even smell him. She could smell lapsang tea and winterberries….she had never smelled something so good in her life….

But she had to put Sho first.

"Don't shout…don't shout?! What the hell do you think you're….don't shout?!" asked Sho. He kicked the wall. He didn't care. He kicked the wall as hard as he could, he didn't live here, and he didn't care if he broke everything in this apartment. He didn't have to live here. He didn't care if he brought this whole building down over their heads.

But big sis did.

She was stopping him with her powers….she thought that she could do that because she was older than him, she thought that she could do that because she was stronger than him….she thought…she was in charge of him. She was in charge of him even though they were the same age. She…she had always said that she wanted…that she wanted nothing more than to make him happy. That she wanted to keep him safe. That she cared about him more than anyone else…but she didn't. He could see where she was looking. She was looking right behind him…right at that guy she liked…

That was why she was here.

"This isn't our house…so you shouldn't shout." Said Mob. She didn't want Sho to shout in…in Teru's house. This was where he lived and…and she shouldn't have been here. She shouldn't have been putting her…putting Teru in danger like this and…and she was here already so that part was already happening and…and she should have left….she needed to leave and take Sho with her.

She could have if she had wanted to.

She could have picked him up with her powers and carried him away. She was strong enough to pick him up, with her powers, and she was strong enough to carry him kicking and screaming back to Seasoning City. That was what she was supposed to do. She was his big sister and being a big sister meant that she had to do what was best for him. What was best for him didn't always match with what she wanted…but what she wanted didn't matter. She couldn't be selfish…she was being selfish now…she needed to stop it…

She needed to get Sho out of here.

"I can't believe you….I can't believe you! You…you betrayed me too! You just…you don't care about me! If you cared about me-" shouted Sho

"I do care about you, little brother! I care about you more than-" said Mob

"You don't give a fuck about me, Shigeko! If you did then…then you wouldn't have come here! You would have covered for me like I told you to!" said Sho

"You know that I couldn't do that even if…even if it wasn't risky. Sho…you aren't thinking things through. You didn't think this through and-and I have to bring you home-" said Mob

"No!" said Sho. He pushed past her and opened the door. If she wanted to be with her boyfriend then…then fine! If she wanted to….to be here then she could! She could be with her boyfriend and he could be with his! She thought that she could stop him…she thought that she could drag him back home…well she couldn't! She was the same age as he was and…and he could do whatever he wanted to do…

And he was going to wait for Ritsu to come home…somewhere else…somewhere far from big sis and….and her stupid boyfriend!

"Sho, what are you-" asked Mob as she was pushed into the wall. Sho was strong…though she hadn't been trying to stop him. He was going in the direction that she wanted him to go so…so this was good. Right? His aura was still mad….

"I'm leaving! Don't follow me!" said Sho before he slammed the door. If this was how she wanted to be then fine! Fuck her! Fuck her and fuck her boyfriend and fuck everyone else in the entire world! Fuck them all! He didn't care what happened to him…he just….he was leaving! He was going to do what he had come here to do!

Without big sis.

"Wait-" said Mob. She reached out as the door slammed. She could have grabbed him with her powers. She could have told him that even though they were the same age again she was still in charge of him. She could have told him that he wasn't allowed to live…but she didn't say anything. She didn't get the chance.

The door slammed shut.

She didn't know…she sat down. She had to sit down. She sat down with her knees to her chest. She took a deep breath…and then another…and another. In for four and out for four like Tsuchiya had taught her. in for four and then out for four. She breathed in and out until her aura stopped…and her heart slowed down. Her little brother was gone and he'd left her all alone….

Nearly all alone.

"So….that was something." Said Teru as he sat down beside Shigeko. This was….not how he saw this going. He hadn't taken her little brother into account beyond the fact that Shigeko was going to come looking for him. That had been….not good. He would have thought that she would have been happy to see him…he sure as hell was happy to see her…even if that had been an unmitigated disaster.

"Do you….are you ok?" asked Teru. She had her head buried in her knees now. Her aura was pushing against his, it was bright and…it kind of hurt…but it didn't matter. She was there. She was…he hadn't seen her in so long and she was there….

And being really quiet.

He didn't get what she was so upset about. Her brother had been an asshole to her but that was just how little brothers were. Not that Teru had any, he had always been an only child, but he knew that they were always assholes to their older siblings. It was a natural law or whatever. Teru was glad that he didn't have to deal with a younger brother, he didn't think that he could take that kind of stress. What it must have been like to deal with that kind of fighting day in and day out….

Poor Shigeko.

"I'm….I-I have to go…I have to go!" said Mob. Someone had been talking to her…Teru. Her brain was…it felt like she was going way too fast and way too slow at the same time. She didn't know what she was supposed to…she had to go to Sho. Sho didn't want her to follow him but…she could see his aura…it was getting farther and farther away….

She had to.

"Wait!" said Teru. He reached up and took her hand. She couldn't leave! She just got here! He hadn't sat through an entire day of-of-that! He hadn't sat through an entire day of being with her little brother just to have her leave. He couldn't lose her again.

He wouldn't lose her again.

"Teru I-I-I…..I have to go." Said Mob as she pulled her hand out from his. She had to go. She ran to the door and opened it. She was glad that she had stayed in the genkan. If she'd had to take off her shoes then she didn't even want to think of how far away Sho could have gotten. She ran over to the elevators and pushed the button…

Way too slow.

She had to get to Sho. He was mad. He did dumb things when he was mad….and just being here was a dumb thing…not that she was calling her little brother dumb! He was just…she was….this was…too slow! This elevator was too slow! How could…the building shook. She was shaking the…and now the elevator had stopped and…and….and….

And this was all too slow!

"Shigeko! Shigeko, wait!" said Teru as he ran from his apartment. He was stepping on the backs of his shoes as he ran. He didn't have time to fix them. Shigeko was leaving. He just…he hadn't done all of that just to have her leave! She just…she just…Teru got a grip on himself. He couldn't go to pieces like that. He hated it when that happened…and girls didn't like it either. She didn't want to be with someone who couldn't keep it together.

She didn't want to be with him….

"Are there stairs?!" asked Mob. She turned and faced Teru. He was running after her…why? Why was…because he wanted to…she didn't know. She didn't know anything besides the fact that Sho…Sho was mad at her but…but he wasn't safe out there. Nobody here was safe with her and Sho there and…and she shouldn't have cared more about Sho than everybody else but….but he was her little brother and he meant more to her than anything and anyone else.

Even Teru.

"Stairs?" asked Teru

"Yes! This building has to have stairs, right, in case here's a fire or an earthquake-" said Mob

"Shigeko…please! You're going to cause an earthquake!" said Teru. The building swayed. He swore he felt it. This was…he was on the tenth floor. That was high enough to kill him. He knew how to put up a barrier but he didn't think he'd make it…not that Shigeko would ever hurt him. He knew her. She had defied the evil organization she'd been born into for him. She helped people, she didn't hurt them, or at least not on purpose…

None of this looked like it was on purpose.

The way her hair flew up around her head. The way her aura…split? There was a lot of pink and then blue and…and it was bright…he'd never seen anything like that before. He'd seen, well known, one other esper personally and even at his most pissed off or freaked out Ritsu's aura never looked the way Shigeko's did now. He took a step back…and then a step forward. He wasn't going to run from her. No girl would have liked it and if there was one thing that Teru knew it was girls.

He may not have known Shigeko personally but he did know a lot about girls and how they liked guys to ask.

"I'm not! That was my dad…my dad…if he finds out that me and Sho were here…he's going to-to-to…he's…I just….I have to…to find the stairs!" said Mob

"They're over there but just…stop…he doesn't want you to follow him." said Teru. If this was what she did after a few seconds of fighting with her brother then what would happen if…if it got worse…and what was her brother capable of? This was…this was fine. Teru had wanted her back and now he had her back. Now he just had to worry about keeping her with him and keeping her calm. He didn't see any other auras around….but he couldn't see past her aura….

Keep it together.

"I have to! Just…you can come with or…I-I don't want to leave you but-but-I have to!" said Mob. She didn't want to leave him. She had just seen him again, after thinking that she never would have seen him again, and now…now she had to leave him. That was….this was what she had to do. She was putting him in danger by being here and she was putting Sho in danger by not protecting him. She had to go after him.

So that was what she did.

She ran for the stairs. This hallway didn't have any windows or she would have opened them and jumped out. This was a very tall building and if she didn't catch herself in time then she would have died…but she knew that she would have caught herself. She didn't have the option of not catching herself…at least she wouldn't have if there had been a window to jump out of. There wasn't. Just stairs…endless stairs. They were grey. The walls were grey…everything was grey….she ran. She ran down the stairs even though all the grey blurred together and made it hard to see. She ran even though there were tears streaming down her face and into her mouth. She ran even though her shoes slipped against the stairs and at any minute she could have fallen.

She ran even though there was a voice calling out to her.

"Shigeko! Wait! It's ten floors!" said Teru. The building had stopped swaying. That was good. The building had stopped swaying but she was still running away from him. He wasn't going to let her go. Not again. She had come into his life and…and she'd saved him…and then she'd saved him again. He could save her now. He could save her from herself…from the evil organization. From Claw. He could save her from Claw…

He could run away with her.

He could leave it all behind and run. They could live their lives on the run together…he could figure out the how later. How they would eat and where they would sleep and….well they'd live on love or whatever. He didn't know. He hadn't thought, when his parents told him that they would be going back to Berlin but he wouldn't be, that he would have been able to be on his own. He had even cried…not that he would admit that to anyone but Shigeko. He had even cried at the…the feeling of being alone…of not being able to do anything….or not having anyone to save him or…he didn't know! He had just been crying like a little kid…he had been a little kid then…but he was older now. Twelve and a half, nearly thirteen. He could live on his own and he could live on the run with Shigeko.

Being on the run with her…it might have been easier even than living here on his own.

"I know!" said Mob. She had seen the big ten on the walls when she'd started. She had just passed seven. Now she was going to pass six and then five and then…and then she'd be able to find where her little brother had gone to. Her legs hurt, her feet felt like they were going to fall off, and her lungs didn't have enough space. She had to keep on running…and maybe do more yoga after this, too, since maybe she wasn't in the best shape…

She looked over the side.

She could jump. She…this building was full of normal people. If one of them saw her jump then it would all be over…but Sho needed her. She was going to take her chances. She grabbed the railing and jumped, pushing herself over the side. She heard Teru scream. She screamed. This was a lot faster than she had thought…she…there went six…and then five…and…and…and she had to catch herself.

She stopped at four.

That…had hurt. She felt sick. That had been like the giant drop at…at…she couldn't remember but she knew that she had hated that ride more than anything else in the world. Her stomach was in her throat and…and she….she lowered herself. She went slower, like the big parachute ride. Just…slower. Slower enough that she didn't make herself throw up once she reached the bottom.

She didn't throw up but she did hurt her ankles.

"Damn it!" said Mob. She shouldn't have said the d-word….but that really hurt! That…she took a step…it still hurt…but she could keep going. She had to keep going no matter how much it hurt. Fukuda could fix it later. She didn't care if he was mean now and he didn't like her anymore. Sho was more important. Her little brother…there was nothing more important than her little brother and sister….

She had to keep going.

"Shigeko!" said Teru as he caught himself…barely. He wound up on his hands and knees…and she just kept on running. She was ok…she was slower…it looked like she was limping. She pushed the door opened and limped right past the lady with the yappy dog. Teru smiled, got up, and followed Shigeko. The wind bit at his arms…he should have taken a jacket, probably his purple one…well it didn't matter now. He had to follow Shigeko, he had to stop her, he had to bring her back…he had to save her.

He owed her at least that.

"Sho? Sho! Where…I can't….I can't focus!" said Mob. She spun in a circle. There were so many directions he could have gone in and every time she tried to look for him the ground shook. She spun trying to find a direction…something crunched under her feet. Glass? Had she been standing in…no. She had broken…there were powdery spots where she had been turning. She had turned the ground under her, fancy bricks, into dust and…and she hadn't mean to break it and…and…and….

She just…she didn't know where to go!

"Shigeko…Shigeko, come on. People are looking." Said Teru as he stopped her from spinning. He took her by the hand. She was freaking out. Her aura was so…it hurt. It was like getting too close to a candle, a really nice candle. She was so…so Shigeko…but also…also she was Shigeko….

He…he was…he wasn't afraid.

"Sho…I can't…I don't know where my little brother is!" said Mob as she turned around again…as she tried to. Teru was holding her arm. She could have pushed him off…but that would have been mean…and…and she didn't want to be mean. She just wanted….he was so close and…and she wanted….the only thing she wanted, the only thing she could want, was her little brother back!

"He told you to leave…Shigeko, stop it. People are noticing and if Claw notices then-" said Teru

"If someone from Claw notices then I'll tell them….something! I don't know! I have to find my brother before my dad…before something happens. My dad…he's so mean…he's going to…I have to find Sho! I have to find him but every time I look for him I just…I can't focus and…and he's in danger!" said Mob. She couldn't breathe. The air was too thin or too thick or….or not the right kind of air or…or maybe….maybe she wasn't right…she just…

She couldn't lose her little brother! Not again….again?

"Shigeko…I….I know where he might be." Said Teru. He actually had no fucking clue where Sho had gone off to. Hopefully somewhere far away if he knew what was good for him. What did Ritsu even see in…how could he have treated Shigeko like this? Teru…he didn't like this. She was crying. He had never seen her cry…he had never imagined her crying. She had always been really happy, inside of his head. When he thought about when she'd come back to him….he'd always thought that it would have been….well not this! He had never thought that it would have been anything like this…not in any of his daydreams….

He could fix this.

He didn't know exactly where Sho had gone to but he had a feeling. He might have just gone over to Ritsu's house. That was…not good. Ritsu would have been pissed if he came back to a trashed house…but if he could get Sho out of the house…if he could get Sho out of the house and then he and Shigeko could finish their argument…

The last thing he wanted was to watch siblings fight.

There was no schadenfreude in it. It was just awkward. Being off to the sidelines with nothing to do but watch. You couldn't leave, that would have made it worse, so you had nothing to do but stand here and try to become invisible…and Teru generally didn't really do invisible…but that was not the situation in which a person wanted to be visible…

But Shigeko…she wanted to be with her brother…and he wanted to be with her…

"Show me." Said Mob. She…she was going to find Sho. Her brain…it was at least starting to slow down she was at least starting to think again. She…she would talk to Sho. She would do whatever she needed to do to talk him into coming home…she was bad at talking. She was so bad at talking but…but she would have to try.

She couldn't fail. Not when it came to her little brother.

Sho had failed at everything. When it came to being a little brother, a son, a friend, and even a boyfriend.

So he was going to live in this park. This was where he had met Ritsu. This park, this slide, this was the first place that they had ever…ever seen each other or talked to each other or…or anything. He had to crouch a little to fit in the rocket ship part of the slide, he wasn't ten anymore. He was twelve and…and fuck being twelve! Twelve, eleven, ten…what was even the point! If every single year all he ever did was…was mess up….if all he ever did was mess up and things were never going to get any better then…then what was even the point?!

All Sho ever did was fuck up.

He wanted to see Ritsu…he was the only person in the world who Sho could trust. He couldn't trust his friends, they were on dad's side. He couldn't trust Ritsu's friend, either, even if he was opposing dad. Ritsu's friend had just…he'd lied. He lied to Sho so he could kiss and stuff with big sis….and….fuck him! Fuck everyone! Sho couldn't trust anyone…not even his own sister…

He'd asked her to cover for him.

But she came after him. She came after him even though she KNEW that dad did whatever she told him to do. She had always been dad's favorite…well Mukai was the favorite now…but dad still listened to her. Dad still listened when she said she liked something or she didn't like something and if she told dad to leave everyone in Seasoning City alone then he would have. She…she just…he couldn't trust her. He couldn't trust anyone but his boyfriend…his boyfriend who he would never see again…

He missed Ritsu…he needed to be with Ritsu….but he was all alone.

Even the park was deserted. It was cold out, a lot colder out then when he'd gotten here. The sun was higher in the sky but it was blocked out by all the clouds. Sho put his hands together and breathed into them. There wasn't anyone around to hold them…

Ritsu had held his hand.

He'd been brave enough to hold his hand on that first day they'd met. He hadn't cared if there had been people around. He didn't care what people would have thought even though they were two boys together like that. Ritsu had just been brave enough to hold his hand…and…and Ritsu had been brave enough to kiss him…and Sho….Sho was so scared of his dad that he hadn't come to see his own boyfriend until he was sure that dad was going to be away for a while.

Ritsu deserved much better…everyone deserved much better.

Sho did the zipper on his coat and then the snaps. That helped….sort of. It was cold and only getting colder…he knew that he should have been using his head. He should have been planning his next move, where he'd go from here. He couldn't just go to the Seventh Division, someone would have told dad, and he couldn't just go home…well he could have, the trains came every two hours, but…but then he'd have to go back to the others…and…and then big sis would be there and…and…

He didn't want to see her.

He didn't want to see her but there she was. She could move fast when she wanted to. Dad could do it too. It was just using telekinesis on yourself. Sho didn't have that much focus, not yet, and maybe not ever. He would never be as strong as big sis…he would never be….he would never be good enough. Everything he did was wrong. What was he…wat could he even supposed do? Nothing he ever did was right…because he wasn't right. She had been born right and he had been born wrong…he had been born Sho and she had been Shigeko and…and….that was the way it had always been…

But she hadn't always been this way…she hadn't always betrayed him!

"Go away!" shouted Sho. He could feel her. She was there. She was right there and…and…and didn't she have anything better to do! She was with her boyfriend! Shouldn't she have been holding hands with him or kissing him or…or thinking up new and interesting ways to be betrayers or…or something!?

"Sho!?" said Mob as she can to a stop. She could, if she had enough opened space, drag herself really fast with telekinesis. She didn't like to do it, it was hard on her, and she had never done it with another person before…she hoped that Teru was ok…but she…she couldn't think about him right now! Sho was up there and…and she had to…she had to get him out!

"Oh God…said Teru as he doubled over. This looked so bad. He knew that there was no way to make throwing up look any less disgusting…so he did his best not to. Even though people were NOT supposed to move that fast on their own…he made it a point not to throw up…but he was going to just rest. It wasn't like he was needed here anyway. This was a fight between siblings.

"Shigeko! Leave me alone!" shouted Sho. He crawled over to the edge of the rocket ship. She was there with…with him. He was all doubled over like he was going to throw up…served him right. Sho hoped that he threw up all over his stupid self and then big sis would be all grossed up since she hated throw up…yeah! That would…that would have served him right!

"No! I won't! Now come down from there so we can go home!" said Mob

"Home? Home?! No! I'm not going home…and we don't have a home! We live wherever dad wants!" said Sho

"So…so that means that Tokyo is our home right now. Just come home with me, please, and then…and then we can-" said Mob

"We can do what, Shigeko? What can we do? Just…just wait for dad to come home and then…and then be afraid of him?! Well I'm not afraid of dad! I'm not afraid of-of-of him anymore!" said Sho

"You should be! Sho…please, little brother, please!" said Mob. She was crying now…crying for real. She rubbed her eyes but the tears didn't stop. She didn't know what she was supposed to do. She didn't know how she could have gotten him out and…and gotten him back…and he wasn't afraid of dad. That meant…that meant that he was going to do something…something terrible…

Something bad.

Something worse than he'd ever done before. Something that…something that would make her have to take him and leave. Something that would make….that would make dad hut him…and then she would have to take Sho and leave. She would have to leave her friends and…and her dad and…and the thought of leaving dad shouldn't have made her sad. Dad was mean to Sho and…and he was nice to her but…but she had to put Sho first.

She had to stop being selfish…but she couldn't help it. The tears just kept on falling.

"Hey, you're going to be ok." Said Teru as he put an arm around her. This was…well when he had been a kid, back when he'd needed it, he'd wanted someone to just tell him that everything was going to be ok. To just put their arm around him and remind him that no matter how bad things got he would always be ok. He didn't get why she was crying. From what he'd read and pieced together about her dad he was a terrible person.

He kidnapped kids after all.

He kidnapped kids, he bought people, he brainwashed people, he left people to die in holes…he was a bad person. Why was she freaking out like that? Her brother wasn't afraid of him. That was a good thing. That meant that…well it was a good thing for Teru. It meant that he and Ritsu had one more person on their side…and…and Shigeko should have been on their side too. He had always imagined her on their side….on his side….fighting alongside him….

Not crying.

"No-no I'm not! You don't…you don't get it. I just…I have to go home…I shouldn't be here…" said Mob. She wiped her tears as best as she could. She heard something metal bend. She had to calm down…she had to keep her powers under control. She had…she had to keep Sho safe…even if he didn't want to be kept safe. She was supposed to be the one who took care of him and that meant keeping him safe from himself…from making bad choices…

Like this.

"Just go away! Go be with your boyfriend! At least one of us should be able to!" said Sho. It wasn't fair. None of this…she got to be with her boyfriend but he never got to be with his?! She got…she always got whatever she wanted. When they had been little and…and now, too. She would never get it, not ever, what it was like to wake up in the morning and just…and just know that you weren't going to get anything….

That nothing changed. Nothing ever changed.

"That-that isn't fair! This is…this is different!" said Mob. She didn't know what Sho was even saying. Her seeing Teru was nothing like him seeing his boyfriend. Teru had never said that he was her boyfriend, he had never asked to be, he…he knew that they couldn't ever be together. If they were together then dad…dad would have found out. Maybe not for a while but he would have found out and then…well and then she knew what would happen….sort of….

She couldn't let anything bad happen to Teru…she understood that she was putting him in danger just by being with him.

"How! How is it…how….how can you…you-fuck!" shouted Sho. That was…he didn't think, he just moved. He just jumped and….and he just…he didn't think! She…how could she have said that?! She just….how could she have said something so…so terrible…so true. It wasn't the same. She was a girl with a boyfriend, he was a boy with a boyfriend, it wasn't the same at all. She was allowed to have a boyfriend, she was supposed to have a boyfriend, dad was ok with her having a boyfriend…dad had never tried to tell her who she could and could not love! Dad had never told her…dad had never told her that he was proud of her just because she had a boyfriend…

Dad was proud of her all the time.

Dad had always liked her best and…and everything…it had always come so EASY TO HER! Everything! She just….from the day she'd been born she'd had her powers. He knew, dad had told him a thousand times. Big sis had been born with her powers. She had been born lucky. Sho was lucky that he'd even been born. Big sis had been born right, mom had almost died when the doctor cut her open to get him out of her. Big sis was still stronger than him. Big sis…she had more power than him…she was the boss of him! She had been born in May and he'd been born in December…that wasn't even half a year! Half a year did not make her…it didn't make her the boss…dad did. Dad had made her the boss of him and dad….dad did it because he liked her best…it had always been so easy for her. It wasn't the same…it was in no way the same….and to hear her say it…

He didn't want to hear it ever again.

"Fuck you!" shouted Sho as he pushed big sis. He hadn't pushed her in years…he had promised himself that he would never push her…and then there he went. He pushed her and…and he couldn't take it back. She wound up flat on her back and…and he'd done that…

He'd pushed his sister.

Then he got pushed.

The next thing he knew he was flat on his back. There was an aura around him…one that he didn't…one that his powers didn't recognize. He was being hit. A lot. At first he hadn't realized what had happened, there had just been pain. Pain in his face…his nose…he tasted blood. He smelled blood…there was…so much blood….he hit back. He rolled over and pinned Teru to the ground. He was stronger. He was stronger and he was going to kick Teru's ass into the ground! He had to kick someone's ass and it wasn't like he was going to hit his own sister!

He shouldn't have pushed her.

He…he had promised himself, when he'd seen dad beat Shimazaki so bad he was bleeding, that he would never do that to big sis. He had been so mad at her that he wanted to hit her so bad she bled…but he hadn't. He never wanted to be that sort of person…he never wanted to be dad…but this was different. Teru had used him. Teru had betrayed him. Teru had hit him first. So it was ok to kick Teru's ass.

So that was what he did….what he tried to do.

"Get off of me!" shouted Teru as he shoved Sho off of him…as he tried to. Sho was stronger….and also they were actually fighting. Not sparing. He and Ritsu sparred sometimes just to see what it was like to fight with their powers….and it had never been like this before. Ritsu's aura had ever felt so…so crushing…and he'd never hit Teru like this. Hard enough to hurt…to leave ugly bruises…and Ritsu had certainly never scratched him before…

What in the absolute HELL was wrong with Sho!?

You did NOT HIT GIRLS! It wasn't ok. It was classless, it was cretinish, and it was just plain wrong. This wasn't kindergarten. You shouldn't just hit girls like that! This was…well they were siblings and the rules between siblings were different…but the rules about not hitting girls was always going to stand! Girls were just….you weren't supposed to…to treat them like that! And certainly not Shigeko!

She hadn't done a damn thing wrong!

"I said get off!" said Teru as he grabbed one of Sho's fists…only to get the other one to the side of the head.

"No way! Fuck you! Fuck you for…for everything! You betrayed me!" shouted Sho as he freed his hand from Teru's grasp and got him right in the side of the head. Shimazaki said that if you were going to hit a guy on the head either go for the brainstem if you wanted him to die or the temples if you just wanted to knock him out. Sho didn't want him to die, he didn't want to kill anyone but dad, but he did want Teru to suffer.

He wanted to make Teru feel just as bad as he'd made Sho feel.

"No! Stop it!" shouted Mob as she ran over and used her powers to push them apart. Sho threw himself in Teru's direction but she caught him. She caught him by the hand and held him tight with her powers. He was upset…he was close to an explosion. She closed her eyes and did that thing she did when Serizawa got too upset. When he cried and curled up into a ball and stuff. She took on all of that extra energy…so much of it…and it was so sad…

This was how her little brother felt.

It was sad. That was the only feeling. She would have thought that it would have been angry energy, that she would have had to use every little bit of power she had not to explode once she took this energy on, but instead…instead it took everything in her not to give it back. This was so sad…she didn't want this! She didn't want all of this sadness inside of her but….but there it was. All of this was hers now and…and she just…she had to take this all away.

Sho didn't need to have any of this inside of him.

"What the….what are you…" said Sho. He felt like the time he and Shimazaki had spent the whole day playing with the food dehydrator. He felt like all those little shriveled up grapes that they'd tried to make raisins out of. He felt like all of those shriveled up apple slice…the time they tried to put a watermelon in…watermelons didn't turn into water melon jerky…

They just shriveled up.

Sho looked down at where big sis was touching him. There was blood and…and his skin was shriveled up. He just felt that way. He tried to keep his eyes opened. What was…what was this? He had never felt anything like this…she took her hand away. He could open his eyes, at least. He could see….Teru was there wiping the blood off his mouth…and big sis was there and she was crying….even though she had no reason at all to cry.

It wasn't like anyone had betrayed her.

"Get away from me." Said Sho as he snatched his arm back. He stood up…he tried to. He was wobbly, like baby sis had been when he brought her to this park….with Ritsu. That had been so long ago that Mukai had still been wobbly on her feet. That had been….it hadn't felt that long ago…but it was. Those times had come and past and now…and now he had to…he had to go….

He had to get out of here.

"Sho, no, you're going to be dizzy for a little bit. When I do this for Serizawa-" said Mob

"I don't care. Get away from me." Said Sho. He wanted to yell…but he didn't have the energy to yell. He didn't have the energy to do much of anything right now. He wanted to sit down but he couldn't. He had to get away. He had to go…he had to go…

He wanted to go home.

"Sho, please. Come on, let's just…we can go home and then I can make you a whole box of poptarts and we'll watch that movie you like about the guy who-who kills people and takes their faces and…and we can even smoke together like you like or-or-or whatever else you want to do." Said Mob. She didn't care what they did just so long as she could keep him safe while they did it. She reached for him…but he pulled away. She didn't know what she'd do if he tried to right again. Dad made people join Claw kicking and screaming…but…in her head she could carry Sho home kicking and screaming but in life…life was a lot different…

She couldn't do it.

She couldn't just pick Sho up with her powers and drag him away. She couldn't hurt him. She wished…wishes didn't come true. She wished that she had a little brother who could see things from her point of view. Who could see the big picture. Who could see that dad was sometimes very mean and the best thing to do was just to go along with whatever he wanted. Sure he could change his mind sometimes but not about big things…things like this. If he wanted someone to join Claw then they were joining Claw. He was good at making people offers they couldn't refuse…she had no idea what those offers were but she knew that in the end if he wanted someone in Claw then they joined Claw.

Even if they had to be kidnapped.

"What I want, Shigeko, is to go home." Said Sho

"Little brother…thank you. Ok, we can get on the next train out of here, I don't care where it's going, and then we can tell people that-" said Mob

"You can get on the next train out of here and you can tell people whatever you want. I'm not going with you." Said Sho

"But I…little bother…I don't understand…." Said Mob

"What's there to understand, Shigeko, I'm not coming back to Tokyo with you." Said Sho

"But then…where are you going?" asked Mob

"Home." Said Sho

"This is…this is confusing. Home is wherever we're staying right now we're staying in Tokyo." Said Mob

"You're staying in Tokyo. I'm going…I'm going home. I'm going back to the Castle." Said Sho

"But-but the Castle…dad said that we're never supposed to go back-" said Mob

"I don't give a fuck's fuck what dad says. I'm not afraid of him anymore." Said Sho before he walked away. Big sis reached for him but her boyfriend took her hand. Good. At least one of them got to be happy. She…she thought she deserved everything….because it always came easy to her. She got her powers first and she got to be the vice president even though HE was the only boy and…and dad liked her best and….and she even got a boyfriend! What about…what about him? Ritsu was gone and…and he could have just lived in Ritsu's wardrobe until he got back like he had wanted but…but now…now he just mostly….

He had to be alone…he had to go home…and he wasn't going to let anything or anyone stop him. Not even big sis.

"But…" said Mob. She wanted to tell him that he should have been. She wanted to tell him that he was having another very bad idea. She wanted…she wanted to tell him that she loved him. She loved him and….and she knew that her loving him wouldn't be enough of a reason to make him stay….but it should have been.

It should have been but it wasn't.

"Just let him go." Said Teru as he pulled her into a hug. Partially for comfort and partially for warmth. Cotton wasn't exactly good for keeping the cold out….and December wasn't exactly t-shirt weather. It was freezing out here and getting colder. They needed to get inside…they needed to get out of here. He needed to get her out of the cold. He couldn't just let her freeze out here.

Especially not after what she'd been through.

"I…I can't stop him." said Mob

"Come on, let's get out of the cold." Said Teru. She didn't argue with him, she just started walking. Good. He had no idea if he could have dealt with all of that again. The fighting…her powers…all of it. She was a hell of a lot stronger than him…but he'd always known that. She had defied Claw twice for him. He'd read about what happened to people who were caught defying Claw, betrayers, and it wasn't good. She had risked dying in a hole for him…being used in experiments…being brainwashed….all for him.

She'd saved him and now it was his turn to save her.

"It's…cold…" muttered Mob as she was led away. She held out her hand…a snowflake had fallen. It fell into the palm of her hand and melted. It was so cold out here….Sho was out here…but Sho didn't want to be with her anymore. Sho had left her…Sho…he was going home. He was going back to the Castle…home…but it hadn't been home. Not for a very long time.

Nowhere was home.

Tokyo wasn't home. That was just a place that she had been living for a while. She didn't have any home…outside of the one she made with Sho. A place wasn't a home unless her little brother was in it…but her little brother had chosen to leave her. He'd pushed her away…with his feelings, his words, and his powers. That was ok, pushing her to the ground, it wasn't like he had hurt her. Her body was fine. She didn't have any concussions, contusions, or abrasions. Her body was fine but her feelings….she didn't even know…

They hurt.

The sad energy that she had taken on from Sho…the sad energy that stabbed at her insides…it was there. It was mixing with the sad energy that she had inside of her. She…she hadn't been pushed by him in years. He said that he would never do that again. He'd promised her. He'd…he'd betrayed her. Breaking a promise was like…like a betrayal but…but she loved her little brother. She loved him and she knew that when you loved someone you never called them a betrayer…

You didn't get mad at them.

Not when they pushed you, not when they were mean to you, and not when…not when they put you through all of this. If Mob had been more selfish then she would have been mad about how this day had gone. She would have been mad that she had woken up with permanent marker on her arm. She would have been mad that her little brother had not only put the boy he loved in danger but the boy that she loved in danger too. She would have been mad that he'd pushed her down and…and that he'd fought Teru….but she wasn't. She wasn't mad at him. She was his big sister and….and that meant that she couldn't get mad at him….

So she didn't. She just kept walking.

She didn't know if she walked for a minute or an hour or a day. She just knew that her feet hurt, her ankles hurt, her legs hurt, and somehow even her back hurt by the time she got to where Teru had been leading her…oh. His house…apartment building. She maybe should have asked where they were going instead of just assuming that…well she had no idea what she had been assuming…

She hadn't had space in her head to assume anything.

"Silly me for assuming the elevator would be working…" muttered Teru as he walked through the lobby doors. There were a lot of people hanging around…angry people. The elevator was down, the whole row of them, because of what had happened…not that he would be standing up and telling everyone that it had been his…his girlfriend….who was responsible for all for all of that.

Girlfriend.

Did she see them as…he didn't even….of course he wanted that. He had wanted that from the moment he'd seen her. That was why he'd kissed her all those years ago…well that and gratitude. Nobody had ever done that for him before….and he never thought….he thought that they would never meet again…but they had…

And they had again.

"Huh?" asked Mob. Her head…she didn't have a lot of space in it. Her aura was too bright. Even now…even after all the fighting was over and done with. Even now her powers weren't listening. The lights above her got brighter and brighter…she couldn't stop. Her powers…her head…it was all too much. She needed to…to lay down and…and…

She needed to smoke. Right now.

"Nothing. Come on, let's take the stairs." Said Teru as he took her by the hand….as he took his girlfriend…by the hand. She was, wasn't she? They were together now…he knew that he needed to think. He needed to plan. He needed to tell Ritsu about what happened, at some point, and that through all of his Ritsu-ness he was the best friend that Teru had ever had. He needed to tell his parents that he loved them. He needed to pack. He needed to get as much money as he could….how much did it cost to run away with someone and live the rest of his life on the run? He needed to figure that out…

But first he needed to get up those stairs before people noticed him.

"My legs are tired…" muttered Mob. She didn't think that she had it in her to walk all the way up those stairs. Her legs…her feet….her ankles from where she fell….she needed to sit down. She needed to lay down. There were a bunch of chairs and couches and stuff in Teru's lobby. She needed….she needed to sit down…

Teru pulled her in the other direction.

"It's not that…it's ten flights of stairs…but…here, get on my back." Said Teru as he knelt down. This was…if he used his powers…but subtly, he wasn't going to float her up the stairs, then it would be ok. He would still be walking those ten flights of stairs, of course, but at least she wouldn't have to. This was what you were supposed to do for girls…for your girlfriend. He'd never had one before, he'd never wanted one before. Why have one girl when you could have a bunch…and why have one girl when you couldn't have the girl you wanted…

He had her. She was his.

It should have felt like the end. Like this was the part where the credits rolled and there was maybe another scene of their lives together. Like when they grew up and stuff. Like…all of that stuff….stuff that he'd never had to think about before. Being an adult….even though he was being ridiculous.

He was practically an adult already.

He lived alone and he took care of himself. Not only that but he, and Ritsu, were helping to defeat Claw and save the world. If that wasn't adult of him then he didn't know what was. He didn't know why the idea of an after the credits scene with her…why it made him want to hit the pause button on his life. He had wanted to be with her and now that he had her…well then they were going to be together forever.

Forever.

It was…a long time…but she was here. She was here and…and she was kind of heavy. Using his powers to lift something as heavy as a person wasn't easy by itself but when he added in the ten floors to get to his apartment….and the fact that he'd just been in a fight…he didn't know how he was going to go on. He needed a break…he needed to rest…but he could do it when he got home. He could rest and regroup…and pack…and…and…

He'd think about that when he had to.

Right now the only thing he had to do was figure out how to unlock his door with her on his back. He reached into his pocket and felt around for his keys. They had to have been….the new key fee was a lot…and his parents barely sent him enough allowance as it was. He barely had enough to cover the basics. Food, clothing, lotion, shampoo, conditioner, bath bombs, etc…but that wouldn't matter if he was running away with Shigeko….

He could do this.

"Here." Said Mob. She raised her hand up and opened the door. Locks weren't that hard to open. She didn't much want to be on Teru's back anymore…she didn't much want to be near Teru anymore. Every second she spent with him was a selfish one…she was so selfish. She needed to go back, to find Sho, to go to the Castle and bring him home before dad noticed and started asking questions. She had no idea when he was coming back…he might have even cancelled his trip and come back now…she had to get Sho…

Sho didn't want her to come and get him.

He had gone back to the Castle…well he was on his way there. That was the last place they had lived with mom…the last place where they had been a family together. She didn't…she didn't think that it was home anymore. Not without her. She didn't know how Sho could have stood to have been in a place like that. She didn't know how he could have stood to…to stand in the last place where they'd had a mom. The last place where they'd played with her…talked to her….seen her. The last place….she didn't know how she was going to be able to…to stand to be back there….but she had to be strong for her little brother…

Even if he didn't want her to be.

"Thank you….um, come in?" said Teru as he put her down. He heard her gasp as her feet touched the ground. His weren't doing much better. He thought that he would have been in better shape. He played football, well they said soccer here, and he road at least a mile a day on his bike. God, this was so embarrassing. Who got tired after walking across town and up and down ten flights of stairs?

Well most people….but he wasn't most people. He was Hanazawa Teruki.

"Excuse me." Said Mob. That was the polite thing to say, wasn't it? When you had to walk past someone. Excuse me. She walked past him and took her shoes off in the genkan. She made sure to face them the right way. That was the polite thing to do…and she had to be polite. She could at least do that right.

"Sorry about the mess. I wasn't expecting…any of that to happen." Said Teru as he quickly took off his shoes. He would have had them lined up with the others, it just made more sense to keep all of his things neat and in one place, but that wasn't an option right now. His whole apartment…when his parents left him here they joked about him throwing wild parties…

It looked like he'd thrown the wildest party Seasoning City had ever seen.

Everything was everywhere. His shoes…his clothes…his table…all of it. Everything was upside down….it would take him forever to get this place clean again….not that he had to if he was going to run away. If he was….if he and Shigeko were going to run away then there was no point in bringing this place back to order. This was…..this might have been it…this might have been….

Or not.

"Shigeko, you don't have to do that." Said Teru. She was on her hands and knees, now, sorting out what few shoes remained in the genkan. If they were running away….unless this was her way of telling him that they weren't. Girls liked to give signals, they liked it when guys tried to figure out what they wanted, though that usually was more for holding hands and kissing and stuff. Not running away and starting a new life on the road or…the ocean, maybe? He didn't know…he hadn't thought this through…but still! She had no reason to clean up after him.

"I should. Sho and I made this mess when we were fighting. It's polite." Said Mob

"Well it would be impolite for me to make my guest clean up my apartment." Said Teru

"No, it wouldn't. I have to…I can fix this and then….and then I have to…to…" said Mob. She could see her aura again. She could feel tears prickling at the corners of her eyes. She just…she had to do something. She had to fix something. She had messed up so much already that…that there had to be something that she could fix.

"Hey, hey, hey. Come on…come on. Don't….don't do that. Not again." said Teru as he helped her up. Her aura was doing that thing again. The last thing he needed was her losing control…and drawing more attention to him. There wasn't a lot of Claw presence in Seasoning City these days, most of them stayed in the woods, and he'd hardly felt any of the usual stalkers….but still. He wasn't going to start taking chances…any more than he'd already taken. He needed her to calm down…he needed to calm down…he just…this was…

Everything was under control.

"I-I just…I'm tired. My legs are tired and my feet are tired and my ankles are tired…and my head is tired and…and I'm just…tired." Said Mob

"Come on, then, let's sit down." Said Teru before he leaned down and used his powers to pull her into a bridal carry. This was romantic…or at least they did this a lot in romantic movies. The guy carried the girl to bed and then…well not those parts, obviously, he wasn't going to even think about that. The last thing he needed was to scare her away. He hadn't gone through all of that just to fuck it up for himself.

"Ok." Said Mob as she was, once again, carried. She didn't fight. She didn't want to. She was being carried again…it was easier than walking. She had brains in her head and feet in her shoes, like the book said, and she could steer herself wherever she chose…but she didn't want to choose. She didn't want to choose and she didn't want to steer herself or anyone else.

She just wanted to sit down.

So that was what happened. Teru sat her down on his bed. It wasn't made…maybe she should have made it. She had never understood the point of making beds but that was just one of those things that didn't have a point besides looking nice. Mom used to make their beds every single day until she got too sick…she wondered if their beds at the Castle…Mob wondered if she had made them herself, since mom had been gone, or if she had just left them unmade….

She couldn't remember.

She didn't want to remember. She didn't want to remember that terrible day where she got up and just…and just waited. Where she and Sho waited for mom to come back…the first time they had ever been home alone. Dad had gone out to look for her and….and she had been alone with Sho in the Castle….but now Sho was all alone. He was alone in the Castle…he couldn't teleport, he wasn't there yet…but he would be….

And she was here.

"Do you…do you want something to drink?" asked Teru. That was polite….and also he was thirsty as hell. That had been a lot of exercise…and he'd need his strength, too, for the upcoming lifetime of running for his life…

"Do you have any vodka?" asked Mob. A drink sounded great. One or two…or a lot. Enough to make the room swim. Enough to make her feel good, or even sick, something other than the sadness that she was feeling right now.

"I…..don't." said Teru. He was twelve. Where in the hell was he supposed to get vodka? Well if she wanted….nobody was going to sell him liquor. Not that he was opposed to drinking, he'd had a whole glass of champagne last New Year's and one time he'd snuck a beer…but he'd never asked for…

He'd learned something new about her just now. Alright then.

"Rum?" asked Mob

"None." Said Teru

"Beer?" asked Mob. She didn't really like beer all that much, it was way too bitter, but she did like the way it made her feel…and that was how she needed to feel right now.

"Sorry, so." Said Teru

"….milk?" asked Mob

"I have matcha oat milk." Said Teru

"What…how do you…why do you have that?" asked Mob. She didn't think that those three things belonged together. Matcha was for tea, oats were for cookies, and milk was….milk was fine on it's own. Sure you could add some chocolate sauce or strawberry syrup but, really, milk was fine on it's own…and anyway, how did you even…why would you milk an oat?

This had been a weird day and it was only getting weirder.

"Because it's better for you than actual milk. Dairy clogs your pores and makes you break out." Said Teru

"But milk is perfect. It's the best drink. It's sweet but not very, smooth, and it fills you up. So what if it makes your skin bad? Milk is amazing." Said Mob

"Wow you….really like milk." Said Teru. She liked milk and she liked getting drunk…not the two things he would have associated with her. He'd had this idea of her…well a few of them…but none of them had liked getting drunk…and none of them would have been so harsh to her own body like that. No wonder her skin was so….no, no, no. This was his girlfriend…sort of, maybe, and he was going to be nice to her….and that meant not commenting on her skin…even though she was so broken out….

She was beautiful to him. That was what mattered.

"I love milk. Strawberry milk is my favorite but my second favorite is plain…and I guess I like chocolate but only if I make it myself. They either put too much chocolate in or not enough….and my brother…he's picky about it too…." Said Mob

"Yeah, he seems…like the type. He looked like he was about to kill me when I told him that I didn't have any soda." Said Teru with a laugh that he didn't really feel. That had been…a hell of a way to spend a day….he really hoped that she didn't take after him or was it him that would have taken after her since she was the older sibling? He wasn't sure…but he was sure that he needed to get actual milk. Well he had table cream, for tea, but he wasn't going pour her a glass of that on it's own. That would have been so gross…

"Sho…he really likes soda….but not tea that much…and not lapsang…I mean I don't know if you tried to give him any, your apartment just smells like it." Said Mob

"That's because he flipped my table…how about some water? Do you like water?" asked Teru

"I don't like it or dislike it. I just need it to live." Said Mob. That had been a weird question to ask. Water was water. Without water you died. It was in every drink so, really, you didn't have the option of not liking it. That had been a weird question….this had been a weird day…

"That's a good one….you were being serious. You know what? How about I just go and get us some waters." Said Teru. She had been serious…ok. Sure. That was…a little weird….but whatever. She was tired. She looked like she was about to pass out. He hurried over to the kitchen and opened up his cabinet. He had plain glasses nothing nice…well he'd never needed nice glasses. He served girls tea, which was why he had so many nice teacups, but very few drinking glasses….

That didn't matter. Not when they were….he had no idea where they were going from here.

"I'm…ok." Said Mob as Teru went to his kitchen. She was thirsty but not for water. She checked her bag. She didn't have anything with her to drink….but she did have her pen. She clicked it on, it still had plenty of battery. Good. She could smoke….drinking worked faster….but she didn't have that option right now.

Smoking was good too.

She put her pen to her lips and inhaled. That was…this was alright. She didn't know what was in this one. She wanted the kind that made her sleepy, the kind that made her brain and her powers and her body just ready to sleep forever. She didn't know what this even was…but it would have to do. She inhaled again and tried not to cough. That had been too much, it had burned the back of her throat. She hated it when that happened. She didn't want to feel any worse than she already did. Actually she wanted the bad feelings to go away…she wanted them to go away and never come back…

But it felt like they might have been here to stay.

"Here you…ok….um…let me open a window." Said Teru. He used his powers to open all the windows in his apartment…which weren't enough. They only opened a crack, not even enough for him to be able to stick his handout. He guessed that it was because he was so high up. The building didn't want anyone dropping things or jumping…or smoking.

The building really didn't want people to smoke.

"Thank you….oh! Sorry, here, you can have a turn too. That was rude of me." Said Mob as Teru sat down on the bed beside her. He put their glasses down on the floor, not the best place in her opinion but this wasn't her house and also she had to be polite. She had been so rude before…she had messed up. She had messed up and…and…and she had no idea how to put things right.

With Sho. She could at least put things right with Teru.

"I….thanks." said Teru. There was no smoking in this building….but since they were going to be running away together anyway this was…ok. It wasn't like he hadn't ever smoked before…and anyway this was a vape. It smelled terrible but not every vape could be…pleasant. He took it from her, pressed down on the button like she had, and inhaled.

And kept going.

This was awful. This was the worst thing that he'd ever vaped in his life, and he'd tried a bacon flavored vape once. He couldn't just stop, though, because that would have been rude….and also this impressed girls for some reason. He held the button down and kept on inhaling until his lungs and throat burned so bad that he couldn't even stand it.

Then he exhaled.

"Smooth. Very smooth." Coughed Teru. He passed it back to her as he struggled not to cough. That was…maybe one was enough for now.

"Do you think? I think it hits kind of harsh…but it's all that I have. I kind of left in a hurry. My brother…this morning he wrote on my arm while I was asleep that he wanted me to cover for him." said Mob as she passed the pen back to him. She could already sort of feel it. She didn't really like this one that much….but liking it wasn't the point. The point was feeling better…and she was getting there. Her body didn't hurt as much and her powers were starting to calm down…but her feelings….they were as achy as the rest of her had been.

"That's….that's not nice of him….writing on you. That's weird." Said Teru before he grabbed his water and down the whole glass. He was getting kind of light headed….she was passing him her vape pen. He couldn't refuse her, he couldn't offend her. If he did then she'd leave him…and he'd end up all alone…here…or wherever…all alone…

"It was…but that's how Sho is. I think he gets it from our dad…he gets a lot of things from our dad…" said Mob as she took her pen back. She looked down at her feet. Her socks were so soft…but she couldn't enjoy them. Not even rubbing her toes against the seam. Sho…he was still out there….and she was still here….

"Your dad…no offense but your dad is an asshole. He kidnaps people and…and he scares you….I'm going to protect you. We can…we can…." Said Teru as he lost his train of thought. What had he been about to say? He didn't even…he was sticky. He was sweaty and sticky and gross. He could feel it…he needed a shower….but he couldn't just leave her all alone. It would have been rude….and it wasn't safe…and he couldn't leave her…not when he just got her back….

"He is…kind of that word…but he can be nice sometimes too…but just to me and my sister. I don't think that he likes Sho…sometimes I just think that he doesn't like boys. Our sister is loud and she hits and throws things and breaks things too but he's never mean to her. Maybe he just doesn't like boys or Sho or…I don't know…everything's a mess…" said Mob

"You-you're right….I should clean up. I hate it when things are like this. It's like…like everything is everywhere, you know? And I can't find anything...I hate it when I can't find things." Said Teru. This was a mess….the worst mess and…and he couldn't pack if he didn't clean up…and he couldn't clean up since he had to leave and…and he didn't want…he had just made this a home. He had just put everything away in it's right place….everything had a place…and if he left then he wouldn't have a place so…so he couldn't leave…

He didn't want to leave….he didn't want to get kidnapped again but he didn't want to leave.

"Me too, but you don't have to clean up. I'm the one who should clean up. My brother did this…this was all my fault…thank you for finding him, though. I mean…why did you find him? You didn't know him…and…and you shouldn't talk to strangers…" said Mob

"I found him so that…well I brought him because…because I wanted to see you." Said Teru

"How…what? How does that…work?" asked Mob

"He said that you were probably coming after him so…so I brought him here." Said Teru

"You lied to Sho?" asked Mob. She couldn't believe…no! No more lies! She had said…well not to Teru but….but new rule! Nobody in Claw was ever allowed to lie! And when Claw took over the world then…then nobody in the whole world would ever be allowed to lie! And everyone would be happy! She took out her phone and made the new rule while she still had it in her head.

"What are you…who are you texting? Oh fuck…are you bored? Am I boring? Am I-" said Teru

"No, no, no! You're not boring at all! I'm just making a new rule for everyone that they can't lie. That's all. You lied to my brother and…and that was mean…but I guess you didn't know any better. Never do that again, though, lies are like betrayal and betrayal is the worst thing that you can do to someone. It's like…when you betray someone you steal their trust and when you steal their trust that's worse than normal stealing because you can't just go to the store and buy more trust." Said Mob

"I…just wanted to see you. I haven't seen you in so long…I think about you a lot, you know. Getting you out…out of Claw. You're so deep in it you…you don't see a way out." Said Teru

"There is no way out. My dad is going to take over the world and….and sometimes world domination takes sacrifices, dad says, so….so this is just….sometimes you have to do bad things to do good things. It'll be…a good thing. You won't have to be scared anymore because when dad takes over the world I'll have the power to tell people to leave you alone….you're in so much danger….I'm here….I'm putting you in danger…I should go…" said Mob

"No! No…stay…please. I don't care if I'm in danger. I can't lose you again….I like you…I like you a lot. I've liked you since the day I saw you." Said Teru

"But that's love at first sight and that's not real. Frozen said so and so did Enchanted. People need to get to know each other to fall in love." Said Mob

"I knew everything that I needed to know about you from the moment I saw you. I knew that you were pretty. I knew that you were brave. I knew that you…that you cared about me. You saved me when you didn't even have to and since then I've been thinking about you…about being with you and…and saving you." Said Teru

"I don't need to be saved." Said Mob

"You do! You do and you can't see it! Like….like how any second now those division guys are going to come for you….for us. They can kick down that door and-" said Teru

"They won't! I won't let them…just…let me think." Said Mob. She needed…she shouldn't have smoked so much. They had been passing her pen back and forth this whole time. They had…she was too high to think but…but she had to! She could fix this. She just…ok…she couldn't tell the Seventh Division….what was left of it anyway, not to look for Teru because that was suspicious…but she could tell them….really all the Division not to look for…for anyone….

Perfect!

"What are you thinking about? I'm thinking about how much I hate my clothes right now. I mean I like the outfit, if I don't look good then I don't feel good, but it's like…like I look good but I feel bad. I hate getting dirty…it's the worst feeling ever. It's like…like it goes from the outside in and….and it's just like…get off of my skin, you know?" asked Teru as he pulled at his shirt. He wanted to take it off…but he only had the one room and there was a girl in it….and on his bed. He'd had a few girls over but not like…not like her…not like this. They'd done the kissing part already so if this was an actual date then they would have gone to making out…and maybe more than making out…

They hadn't had enough time…last time.

Last time he…well he had rushed things…but only because he knew that they weren't going to have a lot of time. He knew that at any minute she would have been gone from his life again so he'd tried to do…well not all the things…but just the things that he knew he was good at. That hadn't been the time to try new things and neither was this…

Even though he kind of…kind of wanted to…

"I wasn't thinking about that…and I like your clothes. I was thinking about how I was going to keep you safe. I told everyone to throw a big party at their HQ or Division or wherever they are and not to stop until I told them too. I told them to use all the slush money, too, which means extra money…I mean you could buy slushies with it…slushies are good for parties…my dad is going to be so mad….he said no more parties but….but this is important and…and it's better that he's mad at me than suspicious." Said Mob

"Your dad is an asshole…fuck him…." said Teru. That had…not been the best thing to say…but he'd felt it. He was too light headed….he drank her water too. It hadn't been enough. She could tell…that was why she was getting them more water with her powers. She was thinking about him and…and it was nice and…and….

And she was nice.

"Here, you shouldn't go so hard at once. You're going to end up stoned…I mean getting stoned is fun and all but…well I don't know if you want to be stoned or not so I'll just stop talking." Said Mob. He was rocking back and forth a lot and pulling at the blanket under them. It was gold and pretty…and soft. It felt good against her socks…she rolled them down with her powers as she brought them more water. She took a cup and drank it…that was a good mix. A soft blanket and a cool glass of water.

"Wow…you have really nice legs….sorry! Sorry! Fuck! I shouldn't have said that. That was weird." Said Teru

"It…it wasn't. I mean normally it feels weird…I have this friend who compliments my body a lot and…it makes me feel weird…but when you do it then it makes me feel good. Maybe…maybe because I….I like you….but you knew that already…since we kissed I mean…" said Mob. She couldn't look at him. She looked down at the bed. There was another blanket behind her…so he used a blanket as a sheet…that was…kind of a good idea. A better idea than telling him that she liked him. Now he….well he might have known but…but they hadn't seen each other in so long and maybe they had been just kissing like she and Shimazaki had been just kissing and…and she hadn't wanted to kiss Shimazaki but she had wanted to kiss Teru…

She still did.

"I-I do like you…I like you a lot…" said Teru

"I do too…but…but not like…not like love at first sight. More like…like love at first kiss? I mean…I don't even know if it's love. I mean I like you…I mean…I like kissing you…" said Mob

"I like kissing you too…and I already know you. You're a good person, you have a little brother, and…and you like milk. There. I like you." Said Teru

"I know you. I know…I know you're a good person….who did a bad thing but for a good reason and…and I know that you're brave…and I know that um…" said Mob as she looked around the room. She really didn't know him that well….did she? She knew her friends better….but she had spent every single day with them for years and years. She knew them because she'd had the time to get to know them. Right now…right now she needed…she needed years and years…but she didn't have the power to stop time…so she looked around his apartment…

"I know you like movies since you have a big pile of them on the floor and I know that you like gold because of this blanket and your aura…and I know that you like…um…Lush because you have a lot of stuff from them on your floor….I guess they used to be on you table…I like you, is the point I mean." Said Mob

"That's a good point….I like you too…but you already knew that…" said Teru

"That's ok, I like when you say that." Said Mob

"I like you too." Said Teru

"I like you too…too. Um…do you want some more of my pen? I mean you look pretty stoned…your eyes are all squinty and stuff…" said Mob

"Stoned? You mean like…I know that word…not when they beat you to death with rocks…" said Teru

"No, that would be bad. I mean like…you smoked too much. Which is weird because I'm not stoned and we've been smoking the same amount." Said Mob

"Wait…that's…are you vaping….drugs?" asked Teru

"Yes." said Mob

"That's…are we…are we going to prison?" asked Teru. He had never done drugs in his life…and now he had…how was he supposed to explain this to his parents? How was he supposed to explain this to…to anyone? He…oh no…how was he supposed to play football, soccer here, for Japan in the Olympics if he was on drugs!? His career was over…no Olympics…and the world cup! How was….he just…he had to…he looked at her. She wasn't freaking out and…and she was even holding his hand now…

"We're not going to prison. Nobody in Claw ever goes to prison…um…I can tell people not to put you in prison too. You know I would never let anything happen to you. You're my…um….boy I like who I kissed before…" said Mob

"Ok…ok…I'm….I'm fine…thanks. I feel…I feel better….I guess I always feel better when I'm with you. I mean girls don't really make me feel the way I feel when I'm with you. Like…like I want to kiss you and more than kiss you…not that we have to! I just meant…fuck….I fucked up and now you want to leave…" said Teru. He'd ruined it…he'd ruined everything…fuck!

"Um….same. Boys…well there's this boy who likes me…well technically he's a man, I think, because he's so much older than me…he kissed me and tries to kiss me and wants to kiss me…and all the other stuff…and it feels weird. Even thinking about it feels weird…kissing and all the other stuff with him…but with you it feels like…like I want to…I mean…um….I want to kiss you and…and stuff…" said Mob. He was staring at her. She was staring at him. Her aura, what part of it that wasn't feeling sleepy from smoking, met his. She could feel his energy…it felt good. Happy…she needed…she wanted to steal it from him…but she didn't. She was…he wasn't freaking out so she didn't have to…but….but she wanted…she just wanted to feel good again….really good, not just high good.

"Do you want to make out with me?! Fuck, I didn't mean…sorry to curse…just…I shouldn't have said that. I should have leaned in to kiss you and then you would have kissed me back and then I should have built up to it…and probably lit some candles too and played some music for atmosphere….this isn't a good atmosphere and you deserve-" said Teru

"I-I would like to kiss you and…and make out with you and…and the other stuff…if you want to…" said Mob softly. If she had to do this with a boy then she wanted it to be Teru. She didn't like any other boys. She didn't know any other boys…besides Shimazaki….and she didn't want this with him. She wanted this with Teru…and she wanted it right now….or maybe later. Later might have been better. Now…well now was such short notice….and she didn't even know when later would be.

There might not have even been a later.

She didn't know when she would see him again….or even if she would see him again. The only thing she knew was that he was there and he liked her and she liked him and this was what people were supposed to do when they liked each other. It was supposed to feel good, what came after, what Teru had tried to do with her in the bushes back when they'd first made out. She'd been scared….well she'd been a lot younger then. She had been twelve then, it had been her birthday, but now she was twelve and a half.

That half year made all the different.

She was older, now, and she was read for this. Minori was the same age as she was and she'd been doing things like this with boys for a while. Mob…she was ready for this…and it wasn't so bad. It was kind of nice, actually, Teru kissing her…well at first. He started off slow but then he licked her and…and she opened her mouth…and then there was more licking…

And stabbing.

Just like last time it was like he was trying to fight her tongue, like their tongue were swords in a sword fight. His tongue was winning, she was letting it win. She didn't know what to do. He was kissing her a lot…there was a lot of spit…she hadn't remembered there being so much spit…but that was normal, right? For there to be a lot of spit? They were kissing so….yes? She didn't know…she hadn't done this before…not besides that one time…Shimazaki had never kissed her like this….but that was a good thing.

The only person she had ever done this with was Teru.

He must have known what he was doing….she didn't want to think of just how he must have known what he was doing…other girls he might have kissed…but she had kissed another boy, well another boy had kissed her, so it was even…this was…this was better than kissing Shimazaki at least….dinking sour milk was better than kissing Shimazaki. This was…she pushed her tongue against his instead of just keeping it pinned back where it was safe. That was…that was better. He tasted weird…she had never thought about what another tongue tasted like but now she knew.

It tasted like a tongue.

That was…Teru seemed to like it. He was making a lot of noise and touching her breasts now. She couldn't really feel it…which may have been a good thing. He had been testing them like melons again. She didn't know what he was testing them for. They were breasts, they were attached to her, and they were filled with milk for her future baby…no….don't think about babies…don't think about making babies….don't think about the thing that people do to make babies…

Don't think about doing the thing that people do to make babies with Teru.

It was hard not to. He was touching her breasts and tongue stabbing her…but she wasn't…they weren't going to do that. She hadn't said anything about…all of that. She just meant that thing that Teru had tried to do before when he reached up under her skirt…that had been…it had been new and scary but now she was ready. She was ready for…for him to touch her where nobody had ever touched her before…

What if he thought that it was gross?

It was gross. It was all wet and slimy right now…and it smelled weird. Well it always smelled weird but this was even worse…and…and he didn't have any sisters so he might not have known that girls and boys were different. Girls didn't have the thing boys had so if he touched her and didn't find one then he might have freaked out…and she didn't want him to freak out….and she didn't want to freak out…but it was kind of hard not to freak out especially when-

-when someone was unzipping her coat.

"This is a really nice jacket. See you can tell in the stitching…sorry, sorry, I just know quality when I see it…and this is…I mean you're good quality and…and your zipper is stuck." Said Teru. That had been a jump cut. One minute he'd been unzipping her coat and then the next he'd been feeling the stitch work….it really was nice…like her…she was nice…

She was nice enough to do this with him.

No girl had ever asked to do it with him…he could handle this. She was here and she wanted to do it so why not do it? Wasn't the point of it all, dates and kissing and making out, to get to the part where you did it? He hadn't been planning on doing it until middle school, that seemed like when girls would want to, but this….this was amazing…and not at all terrifying. This was what you did when a girl was into you…well you waited for a million dates but he didn't have a million dates.

He had no idea if or when he'd ever see her again…and nobody else had ever asked him to do it before.

"Oh, yeah, it does that sometimes. Here and…and…um...do you…do you want me to take anything else off? I mean I don't know how dressed people stay for…for this part. I mean…in the bushes I was wearing all my clothes but that…that was when we were out in public….and this is your apartment." Said Mob as se unzipped her coat and tossed it on the floor. She was just in her dress now…her dress and underwear…she should have worn nicer ones…

She wasn't wearing the ones with period stains, right?

She knew…she knew that she wasn't due for one….but it did sneak up on her sometimes…if it snuck up on her when he was doing…whatever it was that boys did down there….then she would have died. She would have had no choice but to leave her body behind and haunt the world as a spirit. This was…not…not the time for that. She wished she'd owned nicer underwear, pretty ones with lace and stuff, she should have…well she had no way to foresee that she would be here…on Teru's bed….waiting for him to do…more than kissing…with her.

"Uh…people are usually naked-" said Teru

"Naked?!" said Mob

"I mean people can do it with clothes on but…I don't know what you're comfortable with and I'm up for anything! I'm the guy…I'm supposed to be up for…for this so…yeah, whatever you want." Said Teru. He had no idea what he was doing…well he knew what he was doing. He was about to do…to do it…with her and…and she could have a baby…wait, not if you pulled out….ok. He was…that had been another jump cut. How did he get from feeling her up to….were they about to do it? Didn't she need to warm up more first?

Didn't girls need a lot of time to warm up?

He really didn't know. He hadn't ever gone this far. The furthest he's gone was fingering and….and he was good at that…and he'd been good at this. Yeah, doing it was the same as fingering only he used his fingers instead of his dick….no, dick instead of fingers….that was one that he wasn't going to mix up…he had to focus…focus Teru! You're whole life has been leading up to this moment!

"Huh?" asked Mob

"What?" asked Teru

"You just said 'focus Teru, your whole life has been leading up to this moment." Said Mob

"I said that out loud?" asked Teru

"Yes. Very loudly." Said Mob

"Oh…well my whole life has been leading up to this moment. I mean this is it…this is…this is it so….um…whenever you're ready….to do…it…" said Teru. She could be ready now or in an hour…or tomorrow…well not tomorrow, he didn't know when there'd be a tomorrow…if! If there would be a tomorrow for them…so…so he had to make this count….

He could do this.

"Um….now? I mean…um….let's get undressed and then…and then you can do the thing." Said Mob. She pulled the blanket over herself and closed her eyes. She could hear him getting undressed and she didn't want to see it…well she didn't have to because she already knew the different between boys and girls. Since she already knew the difference then she didn't have to look. She just had to take her own clothes off and…and she was….

She just did it.

She had said that she was going to do something and then she did it. She took off her clothes. She took off her dress and undershirt and threw it over the side. Her underwear came next…she made sure she put them under her clothes. OK…now she was naked…in bed….with a boy. She kept her eyes closed. This was…she got comfortable. This was….she knew about this part. The boy…touched it…and then she felt good. She could do this…she would do this…she was doing this…right now…right as soon as Teru did something…

Teru did something. He pulled the blanket away.

"Oh my God…." Said Teru. That was the only thing he could say. That was…she was so perfect. He'd never seen a naked girl before in life….but now he was and…wow. She had….all the stuff. That was…those were her…and she was all for him! She was waiting for him to…this was the greatest day of his life.

"I don't speak German that well. I'm sorry." said Mob quickly. She was cold. She didn't open her eyes…she didn't want to. She didn't know what she would see….well she did, she had spent the whole first part of her life taking baths with her little brother since it had been easier to just wash them together…but brothers didn't count as boys and also she would never have been this way with her little brother since that would have been gross and stuff and also…and also she just…this was ok. This was weird. This was cold…she was cold…but also way too hot. He was looking at her…what did he think? Was she…was she ugly? Was she pretty? Was she gross? What did…why did…what was…..

She was glad her powers weren't listening right now or she would have taken this whole building down.

"Sorry! Sorry, I hadn't realized….um, I just said 'oh my God'. That's all." said Teru

"Why? Was that…in a good way or a bad way?" asked Mob

"A good way! You're just….you're the most beautiful girl that I've ever seen….I mean you're the only girl who I've ever seen naked but you're also…wow. Just….you're wow. Wow is good. You're good. You're pretty. You're beautiful. You're pretty beautiful. So pretty beautiful that it's hard to look at you and…that doesn't make any sense…sorry. That was another jump cut. I keep having those….um….what was I saying?" asked Teru

"That I was pretty…it was really nice and…and can we do…the thing?" Said Mob. She didn't know if Teru was pretty…or if boys could even be pretty. She wasn't going to open her eyes to find out. She just wanted to do…to do the thing. It was supposed to be the best thing ever. Better than even when she was all alone. This was going to be so great. This was-

-not what she had been expecting.

The bed shifted and then something stabbed her. A lot. In the leg and then…and then in her. That was….the bed had shifted. He was….well now he was crushing her. One second he'd been poking her…she turned her head. His hands were on either side of her head so that had been…that was…she had just….they had just…

That…hadn't been what she had been thinking of…

"We just…we just…."said Mob. She didn't know what to do. He was crushing her, now, his whole weight was on her…and…and she had to roll away. She had to just…she could just roll away and then it would all be over…but it was over. It had happened and now…and that….that had been it?! He just poked her once and now…oh…that was a lot of slime….more than she made. But that made sense…boys….they had their stuff too…that happened when they did….all the things…

Like stab you in the…place….with their…thing…

"We just did it…wow! How was…how many times did you come? Two? Three? More?" asked Teru as he rolled over. He loved her. This was the truth. He loved her. She loved him…she'd MADE love to him….that was….he had just….he'd just done it! He was probably the only person in his entire grade, no, school…well that wasn't saying much….but he was the still the first! He was the first person ever to do it and…and he had been amazing at it! That had been the greatest thing that he'd ever felt in his life…this was the greatest day of his life! He didn't care if Claw kidnapped him and dragged him away. He'd done it…he could die happy…not that he would. She'd taken care of them for him…she was so amazing…

And she was his.

"I…I don't know….um….I'm just….I don't know." Said Mob. She wanted to take a bath. She was all slimy and stuff. She wanted to take a bath and then she wanted to leave. She had to go get Sho, to get him back, to make sure that dad didn't get to him first. She had to go back to her friends, too, they must have been worried. She had to get back to her little sister, too, Mukai had no idea where anyone was…it must have been so confusing and scary…

Confusing and scary.

That was a good way of putting it. That whole thing had been…she loved Teru. She wanted to be with him for the rest of time….but she also wanted to be as far away from him as possible. When she had said that she wanted to do all the things she had meant all the making out things, not all the…the other things….but she had and….and it was over. It had happened and now it was over and she just…she had to go.

He was holding her.

She couldn't go. She wanted to go but she couldn't…so she stayed. She stayed in the sliminess of his bed. He muttered something about the bed getting ruined…she hadn't…at least she thought that she hadn't ruined the bed. She didn't know…Minori said that there was going to be blood…but there hadn't been any blood. There had just been…been slime. No pain either…that was good…one thing had been good and…and this was…she had always thought that Teru would be the one boy she would have wanted to do that with but now…now she mostly just wished that she had gone after Sho…or gone back to Tokyo…or even gone back to the Castle…

But she hadn't. She was here now.