Usually the walls were blue.

Suzuki had started painting the walls blue for Shigeko's sake. It had come about as a peace offering, years ago, he had the walls painted blue in an effort to make certain things up to her. He had no need to make peace with her so it made sense that he walls would not have been blue. He couldn't remember, though, changing these standing orders. Any home he lived in would have had as much blue in it as possible….but this home was not blue.

It was red.

"Hurts my eyes." Said Mukai. She covered her eyes and began to spin around. He didn't blame her or stop her. He would have done the same thing if he had been able to. He was too old, of course, a forty six year old man could not just begin to spin around with his eyes closed. Especially not in front of his underlings.

He pulled Mukai out of the way.

"Be careful with that! It belongs to her." said an Awakened. Two of them walked in carrying a large box labeled 'Mob's shoes'. He frowned as the box was carried past. She was not a 'mob' character. She was a human being and her name was Shigeko. He had never understood it, why she referred to herself as such. As far as he knew the name had been given to her in her very first year of school, if preschool even counted as school. A cruel name given to her by the other children. Why she had taken it and made it her own he would never know.

It wasn't as though he could ask.

No there was no way to ask. There was no way…socially. Physically he could speak just fine. He could speak Japanese just as well as she could, better in some ways, and he knew exactly where she was. She was walking through the apartment building, back and forth, making sure that all of her companions were getting situated. He could have walked out the door, it was opened, and spoken to her…asked why all of her boxes were labeled 'Mob'…

But he couldn't.

There was no way to speak to her. There was no way…it was none of his business. She was a grown woman and she could be called whatever she chose to be called. She could do whatever she wanted. Shigeko…she had declared herself to be beyond his command and that was fine. They'd had their argument and now….now it was over. They hadn't spoken since, not one word, and that was alright….it was. He had to look towards the future now, not towards the past. As the ice queen had said, the past was in the past. He had to worry about the future now.

The future was going to vomit if she kept this up.

"I'm spinning!" shouted Mukai. He reached out with his hand and tried to stop her…or at least pull her out of the path of the Awakened. He could have moved everything faster on his own but that was not a good use of his time. This was. Mukai had wandered away from her mother again. She really was his child, he'd had the same habit when he'd been her age….

At least as far as he remembered.

He could remember being very small, small enough that it took two tugs to get him up onto a kitchen chair, small enough that mother had constantly had to call after him when they were out in public. Once…or more than once, he couldn't remember, he had wandered away from mother to hide in the racks of clothing.

It had been dark.

But not the sort of darkness that had frightened him. No, this darkness had been broken with the glow of overheard lights. Clothes on each side, circular, like his understanding of the world. Day circled into night and then day again…he had been too small even to know the days of the week…too small to know the danger he had put himself in. His powers had appeared shortly after his birth but as a toddler he had little to no control. No way to defend himself. If someone had wanted to steal him the could have.

But they hadn't.

No, he had been safe…so safe. In that rack of clothes, away from the crowds of people, he had felt so safe. Mother of course had ben frantic. He hadn't understood why. He had, in his mind, been perfectly safe. Mother had always been odd….he liked Tsuchiya, he decided. Tadashi had made a good choice when he'd chosen her. Mukai constantly wandered away from her, she was Suzuki's daughter after all, but she trusted in Mukai…trusted that she would have been safe…

Of course Mukai was safe. He was standing right there.

"I can see that you're spinning, can you stop?" asked Suzuki. She pushed her hand away and stuck out her tongue.

"No way!" shouted Mukai as she spun into the wall. She didn't stop, no, despite the fact that she must have been in some sort of pain.

"Yes way, Mukai." Said Suzuki

"No way! Extra no way!" said Mukai. Suzuki wondered if he was cursed when it came to his children. Two out of three had already declared their independence from him. Sho had never listened, he'd written Sho off long ago, and Shigeko…she was a grown woman now. She was no longer his concern….Mukai was not Shigeko. She was nowhere near becoming a grown woman. She wasn't beyond his command.

Not yet.

"Come no, that's enough of that." Said Suzuki. He reached out with his powers and stopped her from spinning. The last thing he needed on the new carpet…the new red carpet….was vomit. If she vomited onto the rug then it would have to be cleaned or replaced and that would end up making the entire moving process even longer than it had to be…also Mukai would be sick and he didn't want to see her sick. She was his daughter, his remaining daughter, and he loved her.

He loved them both…but he loved Mukai more. Much more.

"I'm dizzy." Said Mukai as she opened her eyes.

"I can imagine." Said Suzuki. He used to do that, too, when he had been her age. Spun around the room for no reason. He could remember….he had been doing that a lot lately, looking back towards the past. It made no sense. He should have been looking towards his future. He had a promised asset here to recruit, the love of his life had agreed to marry him and bear his child, and by this time next year, twelve to eighteen months, he would have finally had enough money and manpower to begin the final phase of his plans.

If everything went well.

It had to go well. There wasn't any other option. There was no way, at this point, that he could lose. He was going to win and then…and then he would have even more work to do. Conquering the world…holding it…raising his future children….there was much that he would have to tend to. Anew family, the world….

It was dizzying.

"Eyes hurt." Said Mukai as she rubbed her eyes.

"You were holding them closed. Perhaps you shouldn't do that in the future." Said Suzuki

"Eye still hurt! Too much red!" said Mukai

"I agree with you. I have no idea why this room…why this apartment…is so very red." Said Suzuki. It really was. The walls should have been blue. They were now red. The carpeting should have been blue. It was red. The sofa should have been blue. It was red. He could reasonably believe, based on this room, that the entire apartment was red….and he had no idea why. He knew nothing about color theory or decorating or anything like that. He knew that he liked red, it had always been his favorite color, but a deeper sort of red. Like blood which had been allowed to oxidize. This was more like someone had spread raspberry jam all over the walls.

He was somehow expected to live here for the next three to five weeks.

"Everything's red!" said Mukai

"It is…normally I would enjoy red but I must say that this is not my favorite shade." Said Suzuki. Mukai looked at him for a moment, her eyebrows furled, her tongue stuck out the corner of her mouth. He had never been the best at reading people but he could reasonably guess that she was deep in thought about something….or that she was going to vomit. He hoped it was the former and not the latter.

"Are you….well?" asked Suzuki. He prayed that she was. He had no idea what to do with her if she wasn't.

"What's your favorite color?" asked Mukai. Suzuki blinked. Oh. That was….articulate. She had been getting better and better at speaking since he had acquired her…reacquired her. She had grown, too…as children tended to do. It was nature's way and he should have been happy that she had been developing normally. He was…he should have been and he was. Time would take her away from him but time was not something that he could control. He needed to enjoy that time that he had with her now before she left him.

"Red, dark red….what is yours?" asked Suzuki. Did she have one? What was it? Was it…he had no opinion of her favorite color. She was her own person and…and she could have liked whatever color she wanted….she was her own person whether he liked it or not.

"This! This color!" said Mukai as she grabbed a handful of her shirt. Her red shirt. Bright red…but not this bright. An acceptable shade of red.

"That is acceptable. I also like-" said Suzuki

"Mukai! Come here, your mom's looking for you!" shouted Sho from the doorway. Suzuki resisted the urge to slam the door on him. Sho knew better than to shout like that, to be annoying….Suzuki restrained himself. Shigeko had been clear, he was not to hit Sho….Shigeko did not command him, of course, but it was just easier not to get on her bad side. He couldn't get anything done, not one iota of work, if he was having some sort of conflict with Shigeko.

He loathed it when they had conflicts.

The conflict in Osaka had been the worst in years…but she'd had it coming. Shiori had rightly said so. Shigeko lived her life, he lived his life, and the two of them could respect each other. They were both adults and adults did not concern themselves with the affairs of other adults. If she was beyond his command then he was beyond hers. There. No more need for conflict….and no need to start a new one.

He let Sho be. There was no point in correcting him anyway. He needed to focus his energies on his next son.

"Sho! What's your favorite color? Say it now!" said Mukai

"Green, now come here. Get away from him!" said Sho. His aura was focused on Suzuki's. Shigeko…she was in range. She would have noticed if he slammed the door shut on Sho or knocked him through a wall, or just into it. It wasn't as though his blood would have stuck out terribly…Shigeko would have started with him again and he didn't want to start with her. Despite the clear aggressive intent in Sho's aura he left his son alone.

He wasn't worth it.

"Look, Sho, look! The walls! Red!" said Mukai. She slapped the wall for emphasis. Sho sighed and walked briskly up to Mukai. As soon as he reached her he took her by the hand and didn't let go no matter how she protested.

"Come on." Said Sho

"Let go! Let me go!" said Mukai as she struggled to get free.

"She doesn't like that." Said Suzuki. Really. Sho loved, or claimed to love, his sister. If he loved her then he would have done whatever she'd wanted, given her whatever she wanted, including her freedom.

"Shut the fuck up." Said Sho. Suzuki couldn't help it, the room shook. Perhaps the whole building. There was the sound of a crash in the hallway and then bickering…he tried to tune it out. He tried to tune everything out, including what Sho had said…otherwise he was going to maim or seriously injure him…

"You need to-" said Suzuki

"Shut the fuck up!" shouted Mukai. No. There was no way that his DAUGHTER was going to speak like that. He had one child, one girl child, that he'd already lost control of. Not Mukai. She…she was good….and she needed to stay that way…

"Do not speak that way. Not in my presence or hers." Said Suzuki lowly. Sho didn't apologize…he never did. His aura just flared and his eyes narrowed. Suzuki did all he could to keep control over himself. His emotions and his powers. He didn't need to punish Sho. He had another son on the way…maybe…eventually. Tetsuro would be better. Tetsuro…he had to save his energy for his good son.

"I can say whatever the fuck I-" said Sho as Mukai struggled to get out of his arms. It was the second fuck that nearly sent Suzuki nearly over the edge. Nearly, not completely. Sho had been saved, at the last second, by the only person in this family unit who could tolerate him.

Shigeko.

"Sho! Mukai!" said Shigeko as she hurried into the room. She slipped on the rug. She had lost her shoes at some point. She stumbled…oh. Well now he knew why. She stank of…many things. That was her business. He bit his tongue, literally. She was a grown woman now, a small one but a grown one, and she could live her life just as he lived his.

He said nothing.

"Come…come here…you have to come and…and not be in here. I think…hamsters? You have so many and…and they miss you. You're like their dad! Yeah! So you should go and be their dad while Dad does…whatever he wants." Said Shigeko. She looked him in the eyes when she said that. He looked away. He didn't feel like speaking to her or looking at her…

What would he even say?

He could have started with her hair. It was black again, an artificial looking black but still black. Good. It was better on her. Her clothes were still awful and she still wore too much makeup….but it did hide her face well. He had given her a black eye…why she hadn't gone to see Fukuda he would never know….but she hid it well. He didn't like…enjoy…he had done what he'd had to do. It had been the only way to get it through her head that he was a grown man and he was going to live his own life, make his own future, and she would not command him. It had happened, now it was over, and now they could all move on.

He was being ridiculous. He turned around.

"Ham-hams here I come!" shouted Mukai as Sho carried her away. Shigeko wasn't watching Sho. She was watching him. He….had no idea why….but he did know that he didn't like it.

"Shigeko." said Suzuki. There, a greeting. That was polite…is this where they were now? Dry politeness? Better then fighting…it was much better than fighting with her….

"Dad." Said Shigeko just as politely. Alright. So this was what they were doing…he could do this. This was…she wasn't making him upset…or at least not angry. He felt…he had no idea what this was. He exorcised it…tried to. His emotions were like the blemishes that lined her forehead. As soon as one was destroyed three more popped up in it's place…maybe she needed more toothpaste for those…or maybe she liked them. He didn't know and it was none of his business. Nothing about her was any of his business.

"How…how are you?" asked Suzuki. That was what followed this, right? This was polite. This was…this was what their relationship had been reduced to. They used to be so close…but he didn't need her. He didn't need anyone…he didn't need a lot of people and….and she was an adult now and the only adult he needed was his wife. She was his daughter, not his wife, and while he had no genetic relation to her the thought of her in the same position in his life that Shiori was…he was overdue to vomit. Long overdue.

"I'm fine…kind of…I don't know. I don't know, Dad, it's like…I don't know." Said Shigeko. No, no, no. Her aura, her voice, her…everything….he did not want to deal with this. Her emotions…his….there were too many emotions. He needed to correct course.

"Why are…why are you here?" asked Suzuki. There. The point. She was surrounded by her friends. She should have ben with one of them…not Shimazaki…not that he got a say in the male company she kept…he didn't want to think about this. He didn't want to think about anything related to her.

"We live here now." Said Shigeko

"No, I mean why are you lingering here in this room?" asked Suzuki

"I live in this room…this apartment….am I still alive to loud with you….aloud to live with you?" asked Shigeko. She stuttered. She clutched the wall. She…was clearly very intoxicated. Of course she was. She had matched Shimazaki drink for drink on the plane…or maybe he had been matching her. Suzuki had been trying not to look…it was none of his business what she did.

"You can live wherever you chose. I don't care." Said Suzuki. He wanted….anywhere but with Shimazaki. He didn't care where she went or what she did just so long as…well he had no say in her life. She was a woman and women chose men and if she had terrible taste then it was her problem and not his.

"I…ok…ok I guess….um…do you like it here?" asked Shigeko. He didn't. He wanted to go back to Osaka or at least Japan, and he wanted to get on with having another child…but he wasn't going to tell her that. His plans for the future were none of her concern.

"That is not your concern." Said Suzuki. Shigeko overstepped again. She was…he was going to pay her no mind. He was going to stay calm and he was going to say nothing to her….no fighting. No conflict.

"Ok…Ok….but…ok. I just….do you like the walls? And the floor? I mean you like red and…and I thought you liked red so I thought you would like this…do you like it?" asked Shigeko

"I enjoy red but not this shade." Said Suzuki. Shigeko made a choking noise…but he hadn't choked her. Ever. Sho, yes, but not her…so he was not responsible for that sound. He was not responsible for the emotions that had caused it. He was not responsible for her emotions. He was not responsible for her at all.

She wasn't a child anymore. He had no responsibility for her. To her.

"Ok…um…my hair is black now…do you like it like this? Like that?" asked Shigeko. He loved her hair. He loved that she looked like herself. He wanted to hold her close and run his hands through it. He wanted her to promise that she would never change again. He wanted…his wants were irrelevant to the situation.

"I no longer get to have any opinion on your hair, makeup, or wardrobe choices. Excuse me." Said Suzuki. He didn't want to talk to her so he wasn't going to. Why was she asking him all of these questions? Why was she speaking to him at all? She had other companions…he had been waiting for his bedroom to be done…but he would wait in his bedroom. Shigeko could have the rest of the apartment. Shigeko could have whatever she wanted, do whatever she wanted to do, but he didn't have to be a part of it. She had been asking his opinion on so many things…a trap? Was she after a confrontation? Or…he had no idea and he didn't want to have one…and he wanted to just wait all of this out. Preferably in his bedroom.

The walls, here, were red too. He wished he could have exorcised this color from his life….the color and the emotions that came with it.