Suzuki knew that men were perfectly capable of helping out in the kitchen.

Shiori had been perfectly clear about that when she taught him how to make his own omelet. The results had been…less than satisfactory…but when it came to the basic mechanics of cooking men were just as capable of putting butter and eggs in a pan as women were…

Or in this case putting various ingredients in a pot.

"What are you adding?" asked Shimazaki….who should not have been in his apartment. Shimazaki had his own living space with Minegishi and the others…well not Shibata and Tsuchiya, they were trying out cohabiting. He approved, of course, the world needed more esper children…though he did feel for Hatori. He'd missed his shot and now the man of his dreams was taken. Maybe he could have settled for Shimazaki. He and Minegishi had that sort of arrangement. Maybe Minegishi could have come over and collected their partner. Maybe Shimazaki could have just dropped dead right there on the kitchen floor.

Suzuki knew that he wasn't going to be so lucky.

"Fish oil." Said Shigeko as she held what was clearly a bottle of sesame oil in her hands. Suzuki could have gone into the kitchen and stopped her, he could have slapped the bottle of sesame oil out of her hands, and while he was slapping things he could have slapped Shimazaki's hand off of her waist. This was his kitchen. This was his apartment. This was his Daughter. This was…this was a grown woman who he was responsible for….

This was a grown woman who was very small and his daughter who was about to ruin dinner.

He took a step into the kitchen, just one. Shimazaki's hand was on the bottle of sesame oil…it was dangerously close to Shigeko's hand. He was dangerously close to Shigeko. This was…she was perfectly capable of defending herself. She could have killed him, easily, if she hadn't wanted him around. That was what Suzuki would have done if he had been a woman faced with an unwanted suitor…but he had known for quite some time that Shimazaki's presence was very much wanted….

And now he was seeing it with his own two eyes.

"That doesn't smell like fish oil." Said Shimazaki. He leaned in, close, and smelled the bottle despite the fact that it was clearly labe….oh. Right. He couldn't see. His one saving grace. He couldn't see how incredibly tight Shigeko's shirt was and how short her skirt was…why was she dressed like that? For Shimazaki? But he was blind….so there must have been other men, then. Lots of other men…or maybe one…or two…or ten…or twenty…he didn't know. He just knew that he didn't like her outfit, he didn't like how close Shimazaki was to her, and he didn't like this!

But there was nothing that he could do…he hated this feeling….this powerlessness…..

"Oh! You're right, I grabbed the sesame oil by mistake." Said Shigeko as she took a step back. That was better, much better. Shimazaki still had his other hand around his waist but…well he shouldn't have been touching her at all! Suzuki could have stopped this. He had come out of his room to stop this…well to investigate why he had been woken up from a well earned nap by the sound of loud music and the feel of Shimazaki's aura. He was…he was the one in charge here and he could have stopped this but…

But then he would have had to TALK about it.

Shigeko was a child, his child, and she was still under his command…but she was also a woman, a grown woman, someone who was so clearly a grown woman that…that of course she would have wanted to do what grown women did. She had clearly gone through puberty and was perfectly capable of bearing a child…and that was what her body was telling her to do. Seek out a male human being to reproduce with. It was the biological imperative that all adult human beings were forced to grapple with….men and women….he held no illusions about women. They had the same desires men did, otherwise the human race would have died out long ago, but…but why did Shigeko have to be a woman? Couldn't she have stayed a little girl for just a little while longer?

Though, really, he hadn't been much better about these things when she had been a little girl either.

"Wait, no, put that in too. We need five flavors." Said Shimazaki

"But Ryou, we already have five flavors." Said Shigeko

"Well now we have six." Said Shimazaki

"Ok….but if this doesn't turn out good we don't have any other food." Said Shigeko

"What about the tempura? And the rice? And the salad?" asked Shimazaki

"I guess…but we can't fill up on rice, Sho doesn't like salad, and the tempura was mostly for Dad since he eats all of it anyway. It's the way grandma used to make." Said Shigeko

"Huh. You know something, President Suzuki? I always assumed you lived on eggs and ketchup. You think you know a person." Said Shimazaki. It took Suzuki a moment to realize that he was the one being spoken to. His aura jumped, the room nearly jumped, but Shigeko held it down. Why did he feel like he'd been caught sneaking around? This was his apartment! This entire building was his! He was not sneaking around and-and-and he had every right to be here!

And he had every right to an explanation!

"Shimazaki. Explain." Said Suzuki. Shimazaki didn't turn around…well he didn't have to…but it would have been more respectful. This entire situation was disrespectful. The way Shimazaki and Shigeko were smoking…whatever…..right above the food they were cooking. The way Shigeko let Shimazaki keep his hand on her waist, dangerously close to her thigh. The way she felt the need to walk around in front of whoever was watching dressed like…like that….this whole thing was just disrespectful!

"Ryou and I are making-" said Shigeko. She turned to face him…and now Shimazaki followed. Now he saw fit to be respectful, because of Shigeko's example. That was good…right? Suzuki…he knew what Shigeko needed a partner. Someone obedient. Someone who when she said 'jump' he said 'how high?' someone who when she said 'sing' he said 'what song?' someone who when she said 'drink cyanide and then eviscerate yourself with a butter knife' he said 'do you want me to do it in the bathroom so I don't make a mess?' someone perfect like that. Someone who needed her, too. A man who couldn't survive without her. A man who might as well have been attached to her with an umbilical cord. She also needed a man who could protect her because Suzuki would one day die and leave her all alone…she needed…she needed….

She needed literally any other man than Shimazaki Ryou.

"I was speaking to Shimazaki." Said Suzuki lowly. Shigeko gave him an odd look…and then put her hand on Shimazaki's arm…what did that mean!? What could that have…he needed….he needed to consult someone about this. Tadashi…no. Speaking to Tadashi about anything would have been…not optimal. He hadn't had a real conversation with him since they'd had sex and he wasn't planning on it…Hatori, maybe? He had good social skills…but he was also very young and inexperienced when it came to these matters….Shiori, maybe?

Shiori would have known what to do…he'd made a mental note to consult her later. Right now he had to deal with this himself.

"Mob and I are making five flavor soup." Said Shimazaki …as if that explained anything. He had never heard of five flavor soup before and…and that was the least of his problems!

"Explain better." Said Suzuki

"Ok, the first thing we did was pour some vegetable oil into a pan and then we put in-" said Shimazaki

"No. Not about what you're cooking. Explain to me, right now, why you are in my home cooking dinner with my daughter. Now." Said Suzuki

'Dad-" said Shigeko

"It's ok, Mob, I have this. Mob and I were at this bookstore the other day, well me and Mob and Toshi but Toshi's off on a personal day thing with Matsuo, so anyway it turns out that my Chinese braille sucks and also Mob doesn't know a lot about cooking and then one thing led to another and now we're making dinner together." Said Shimazaki. He said that like….like he just…like that was normal. Like he normally made dinner with Shigeko…was this normal? Suzuki had been splitting his time between his work here and his relationship with Shiori…he pretty much only came here to sleep and eat…he had no idea what was normal anymore…

This did not feel normal.

There was so much about this that just…was not normal. There was the visceral reaction that any father would have felt when faced with the fact that his daughter had a man in her life…in some capacity. There was also the age gap between them. Shimazaki was twenty years older than her…old enough to be her father. Suzuki actually was her father and…and he had the power to stop this….but if he did then he would have had to have it out with Shigeko. There was no point in it. She did whatever she wanted to do, whenever she wanted to do it, with no thought to herself or anyone else. Even her own father….

He had to say something….but…..but what could he possibly have said that wouldn't have ended in Shigeko, him, or the both of them exploding?

"Dad, are you alright? You look like you're going to be sick." Said Shigeko

"You alright, President Suzuki? Want some fish sauce to settle your stomach?" asked Shimazaki

"What? No…why would I want….no. Shigeko, I want to talk to you about….I would like to discuss….I…." said Suzuki. He wanted to grab her by her braids and drag her off so he could knock some sense into her…but she was too old for that. She was a woman and he did not strike women, not unless they offered to fight him….could he get her to fight him? No, no, then the punishment aspect would be lost. He so hated when his children got like this….but then again when were' they like this? He had lost control of Shigeo long ago and Sho…he'd never had control over Sho.

Not at any age.

"Hurry, Sho, hurry! I'm hungry!" shouted Mukai. The front door slammed opened, he was sure that there was a hole in the wall now. Good. That was…well he didn't care, they wouldn't be here for long, but dealing with Sho was always easier than dealing with Shigeko.

Mukai was the best of his children, of course, and he prayed that her teenage years went much better than Shigeko's were going.

"Hang on, Little Sis, I'll make you something!" said Sho. The apartment shook. The sound of tiny footsteps filled the apartment. It didn't take very long, no more than five seconds, for Mukai to run into the kitchen and launch herself at him. She clung to his legs…she smelled like wet dog…but he didn't care. He picked her up despite the protests of his back.

"Hello Daughter, where have you been?" asked Suzuki. Shigeko cringed and looked away. What? Mukai was his Daughter, his good Daughter. She was his daughter as well but she was also a woman and much too old for him to pick her up….and not only because he was certain that his back would break completely if he tried to.

"I petted the dogs! All the dogs! And then they licked me!" said Mukai. She licked him, too, just so that he knew what she meant. He didn't mind…much. He loved her and…yes, she could be loud and annoying but she wasn't out coloring her hair or…or spending time with men….so he could put up with this for now.

"Without me? Mukai, come on." Said Shimazaki. Suzuki wanted to murder him. How dare he speak to Daughter…one of his daughters…his favorite Daughter. How dare…he held Mukai closer.

"You were busy." Said Sho as he entered the kitchen. He made eye contact with Suzuki and tore Mukai from his arms with his powers. Shigeko was there. She was watching. If he corrected Sho then…well then he would have had to have it out with Shigeko and he didn't want to start with her. He knew what Shiori had said, he was her father and he was entitled to command her in whichever way he chose, but…but he didn't want to command her. He wanted things to go back to the way they were before, back when she had been small, but…but that wasn't going to happen. So he wasn't going to be able to get what he wanted…but he could at least….well he could at least the avoid things that he didn't want…

The last thing that he wanted was a fight. He had never been good at fighting women.

"I'm never too busy for you guys. Mob would have wanted to come too, right Mob?" asked Shimazaki. This time Shigeko did step away from him…Suzuki felt like a weight had been taken right off of his back. Well it had, Sho had taken Mukai from him, but…but this was different. Better.

"I don't know…um….should we make more…um…should we put more flavors in? Wouldn't that…would that work?" asked Shigeko. She turned to face the stove. Sho frowned. Suzuki had no idea why. Mukai tugged on his hair. That he understood. She liked to pull hair. She was so easy to understand….he hoped that she stayed the same as she grew up…or even better, that she never grew up at all.

A Neverland situation, not a stuffing her and preserving her under glass like taxidermy, situation.

"We could try some peanut oil or something…or you could try telling me what's wrong. If you want to go play with dogs I know where we could find some. I bet your brother would even spit out that lemon he's been sucking on and join us. Come on…" said Shimazaki. He took a step forward and…and ran his hand up and down her back. A glass on the table tipped over.

Sho's doing. Not his.

"….this is really weird. C'mon, Mukai, let's go have dinner with your mom and Shibata." Said Sho as he adjusted Mukai on his hip. She kicked him, that meant that she wanted to walk, but Sho was of course too dense to notice. All of his children…most of his children…were dense. Shigeko…she could have been bright enough to think….to think of how truly weird this was. Weird…that was a good word. Sho wasn't as dense as he seemed. Good for him.

"Panda?" asked Mukai as Sho carried her away.

"I don't think that they're making…actually, yeah. Let's get Panda. Let's just…let's go. Now." Said Sho. He picked up the pace and soon, before Suzuki knew it, the door had slammed once again. Now he was here…alone…with Shigeko and Shimazaki. Thankfully they didn't seem to be paying attention to him…

He had never felt this out of place in his own home before….

"Be careful! You're allergic to orange…chicken. I think he heard me. Do you think that he heard me?" asked Shigeko Shimazaki shrugged and played with a piece of Shigeko's hair. She let him.

"Well if not then he's dead." Said Shimazaki. Shigeko turned to face him, the lock of hair that he had been playing with slipped away. Suzuki tried to move Shigeko herself away from him…but she stopped him. She didn't even move. He managed to move her one single centimeter before she stopped him…well he hadn't been trying but….but neither had he….

He was proud…right? He was supposed to be….

"Ryou…" said Shigeko. She…she hadn't even said a word to her own father…Suzuki had been expecting her to be annoyed with him. Suzuki had moved her against her will and she…she didn't even say a word to him about it. That wasn't like her…Shimazaki captivated her so much that….he didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to be here but….but like a train wreck, not the once he's caused all those years ago, he couldn't look away.

"Sorry, sorry, that was just me trying to be funny. I'm sure he's going to be fine. Your brother's smarter than he looks. I mean he's got your genes after all." said Shimazaki

"I don't wear jeans, they're stiff and make it hard to bend my legs." Said Shigeko

"Hmm….don't I know it?" asked Shimazaki. His hand went way too low…Suzuki moved it. He moved Shimazaki himself, not just his hand. Shimazaki raised his hands in surrender. Shigeko put up a barrier and stared at him….what did she expect him to say?

"….I'm having dinner with Hatori and Serizawa. You just…don't….I don't know what to do in this situation so I'm leaving." Said Suzuki. He couldn't stay. If he stayed then he would have had to talk to her…or worse, he would have been there to see more of those moments. Shigeko was a…she was nearly thirteen…but that was so young. She wasn't…she was and wasn't a woman. She was too young but also too old and…she was too young for Shimazaki but she was too old for him to command her. If they fought then…then there was now way he could win…he didn't even know if he wanted to win. He loved her but…but she made it difficult for him to love her.

"Are you sure? I think that Hatori and Serizawa are just making microwave nachos for dinner. That's just chips and cheese in the microwave." Said Shigeko

"Where in the hell did they find cheese in China?" asked Shimazaki

"They sell cheese here, not a lot of it but they sell it." Said Shigeko

"Well I've never seen it…but then again I've never seen anything." Said Shimazaki

"I know." Said Shigeko. Suzuki agreed. He knew too. Well it depended on how one defined 'seeing' things…not that he was about to discuss this with Shimazaki. He didn't feel like picking his brain about how his powers worked and how he saw himself in relation to others. The only way he wanted to pick Shimazaki's brain was to have to pick it off of the wall after he knocked his head into it.

"Well, don't all laugh at once." Said Shimazaki. Shigeko shook her head.

"I'm not going to laugh at all. It's not funny, it was kind of funny a few years ago but not it's just boring." Said Shigeko. There. She had told him off and now…well he should have stormed off…why wasn't he storming off? Shigeko had been rude to him but…but why was he still HERE?!

"Well then I guess I need new material." Said Shimazaki with a shrug and a tone that Suzuki never wanted to hear directed towards his daughter ever again. Suzuki may not have been good with words but he was a man...he was a man and he knew what it meant when a man spoke to a woman like that.

"That would be nice. You can try it out on me and Dad…unless Dad wants to go and eat microwave nachos with Serizawa and Hatori." Said Shigeko. She looked at him, she made eyes and aural contact, and he…he looked away. He couldn't stand to look at her right now. If he looked at her then he would have said something and if he said something then they would have had a conflict. He would have said something about how she shouldn't have been so close to Shimazaki. He would have said something about how she needed to choose a different sized t-shirt. He would have said something about how he was her father and he did not need to see so many centimeters of her thighs. He would have told her that her hair still hurt his eyes when he looked at it for too long. He would have told her….

If he stayed he would have said something. So the only thing left to do was go.

"I think that I'll be doing that, yes." said Suzuki. He willed his feet to move. He just…he had to get out of here. He didn't much want to eat chips and cheese which had been microwaved, though he was curious as to what sort of cheese they had been able to find in Beijing of all places, but he didn't want to be here. He didn't want to just…this was not for him to see. He had no clue what he was supposed to take from this….so he would take nothing. Nothing but himself. He would take himself right out of this situation before he lost control of his powers….and his mind.

He turned. He stopped.

"You sure you don't want-oh my God!" said Shimazaki. Suzuki turned around. From that exclamation…from his aura, Suzuki had assumed that he'd injured himself. Possibly horrifically. Possibly so horrifically that Tadashi had no hope of putting him back together again. As he turned he didn't see blood, or gore, or even a severed limb or two. No. He just saw Shimazaki holding a spoon in one hand and sticking out his tongue. Unattractively.

"Too hot?" asked Shigeko softly. He passed him a can of…something that she should not have been drinking. He took it, tilter his head back, and downed the contents. Shigeko should have been put off…but she wasn't. She just took the can with her powers and put it in the recycling bin.

"No, too many flavors. Taste this, Mob, here." Said Shimazaki before he pressed that spoon….the same spoon that he had just tasted the soup with…right to Shigeko's lips….

Suzuki had never had an aneurism before, he had no idea what they felt like, but he got the feeling that he was about to find out.

"Oh! That is too many flavors…oh well, like you said we have other things. Lots of other things since nobody wants to have dinner with me." Said Shigeko. Shimazaki handed her another can of…of all the things to drink, why beer? She should have had better taste than…well now he had no idea what bothered him about this. There were just so many things to be bothered by that his mind couldn't simply choose one.

"Hey, I want to have dinner with you and I know that Toshi would have, too, if they weren't off on their date. Shibata and Tsuchiya…well they're still in that honeymoon, have to be surgically removed from each other stage in their relationship so they don't want to be bothered. As for those other two…well they'd probably want to come by if they weren't competing for champion of nerds or whatever. People like you, Mob, lots of people. I like you. I love yo…I love making dinner with you." Said Shimazaki

"I love making dinner with you too, Ryou." Said Shigeko. Suzuki had seen more than enough. This was…no. This was not something that he wanted to be witness too. Shimazaki had been about to say….Suzuki's aura was flaring, his vision was blurring, and his chest was tight. He barely made it to the genkan…he didn't have the coordination right now, physically or metaphysically, to put on his shoes. He just…Shimazaki had been about to say…

He had been about to say that he loved cooking with Shigeko.

That was all. Men were allowed to cook. The roles for men and women had become much less rigid in the time since he'd been young. Men were allowed to cook. Shibata loved to cook and there was nobody on Earth who could argue with him on that. Shimazaki was just that sort of man and…and he needed help. He was completely blind. He couldn't read labels or recipes, he couldn't see when something was done cooking, and…and other things must have been difficult for him too. That was why he touched her, too, since his powers did fail him on occasion. Shigeko simply tolerated him because she was a very caring person. She….nothing was going on between the two of them. Suzuki's sanity would not allow for it and…and yes, she had reached puberty, but she could have had her pick of the men. She didn't have to settle for Shimazaki. He had…he had simply been helping her cook, that was all.

Men were, after all, just as capable of cooking as women were….though some men needed a considerable amount of assistance.