Mob didn't really like to cook, but she had to.
She was the only one who knew how. Dad didn't know how to make more than overcooked eggs and lumpy oatmeal and Sho didn't know how to cook anything at all. He didn't even know how to put his poptarts in the toaster….though he said that he liked them better raw. Mob didn't think that they were that much better raw but she wasn't the one who had to eat them, as Sho had said. No, they were all pretty much his…
Maybe she should have just let him eat a box of poptarts in his room like he'd wanted.
"Is this enough?" asked Sho as he held up his plate. Mob shook her head, he'd only taken three bites. If he didn't eat enough now then he'd be hungry and grumpy later and when he got hungry and grumpy he fought with everyone…including Dad…and nothing good ever came from fighting with Dad.
"Why are you asking me?" asked Dad as he looked up from his phone. Mob wanted to tell him that of course Sho hadn't been speaking to him but that would have been mean. Dad was…kind of in a good mood right now. He was on his phone even though he knew that there was a 'no phones at the table' rule. His aura was happy and he was even smiling a little bit. He was either working or talking to that lady…
Mob hoped that he was working.
"I was asking Big Sis, obviously. Why would I ask you anything?" said Sho as he put his plate down. Dad glanced in his direction and opened his mouth like he was about to say something. His phone vibrated and he looked down at it immediately. She hoped that it was a work thing, she hoped that it was one of those people doing bad things that he had to stop, she even hoped that it was someone trying to steal their money from them. She hoped that it was anyone other than that lady.
That b-word.
That…well she knew what she was. She knew what she was and she knew that she wasn't wanted here. She had been mad at Mob for showing up at her house…but what was she doing right now? Her being on the phone with Dad was like her showing up at their table and sitting down. She wasn't supposed to sit here with them or-or anywhere near them! She had her own house in Osaka, not Tokyo, and…and weren't their people in Osaka she could have texted? Weren't their other people's Dad's she could have tricked or fallen in love with or-or whatever? Why did she have to come after Mob's Dad?
And why did Dad have to let her come after him…why did he have to let her text him…why did he have to let her come right to their dinner table?
"Take more bites, Sho." Said Mob before Dad could realize that he had been in the middle of a conversation. He didn't, he was stuck in his phone, and that was…well he would have been upset if he saw the way Sho's aura looked. He never liked it when Sho got mad at him. He never hit Sho anymore but that didn't mean that he was nice to him.
Dad didn't know how to be nice to Sho…or to her, now.
"What do you mean, three more bites!?" asked Sho, slamming his hands down on the table. Dad reached out with his powers and kept the table steady…and be frowned.
"That's what I said, three more bites….please?" asked Mob softly. Dad was still texting but there was still a frown on his face…and if he was letting it show then that meant that something was really bothering him…and nothing good ever came from Dad being bothered.
"I already took three, that's the rule." Said Sho
"I know but…" said Mob. She could see, there, the three spots on his plate where he'd taken his three bites…and it would have been enough if he had still been little…if they had both been little. They weren't little anymore, they needed more food. Mob knew that she had been really hungry lately, anyway, and that she had been getting a lot taller too. Sho was taller now and he was eating a lot more than normal, too. He'd eaten an entire box of cereal that morning. He needed more food than normal and…and she couldn't let him just go to bed hungry.
Also he needed to eat more real food or he would never grow up big and strong.
"See? I took one bite here, one here, and then one here. That's three. Three bites and then I can leave. Remember, that's the rule." Said Sho, pointing to the holes he'd made in his curry. He'd only eaten the rice and the sauce, he'd avoided the vegetables, meat, and cheese….people couldn't just live on sauce and rice, right?
"That was the rule when you were little. You're bigger now and you need more food. Also this is curry, you like curry." Said Mob
"I guess….but I don't want it right now." Said Sho
"Ok, what do you want me to make you, then?" asked Mob. She didn't really want to start on a whole new dinner. She was hungry and tired and had a lot to do. She hadn't even done today's homeschool and if she didn't get it done then Tsuchiya would be upset with her. Also she had to iron a bunch of Dad's shirts and that took a lot of time. Mukai was probably going to need a bath tonight and she liked it when Mob played with her while she took a bath. She had a lot to do…but Sho needed her….
And she needed to be a good big sister.
"I don't want you to make me anything. I want poptarts." Said Sho
"That's a breakfast food…and also not a real food. You need to eat more real food or you'll never grow up. Also all of that sugar is bad for your skin." Said Mob. That last part might have been kind of mean but Sho was all broken out and she didn't want people to make fun of him and she didn't want him to feel bad about himself. There weren't a lot of things worse than being all broken out. Your face hurt and people stared at you and they probably laughed, too, inside of their heads because you looked weird. The last thing she wanted was for Sho to feel that way.
She hated it when he felt bad about himself…when he felt the way she felt about herself.
"Dad eats breakfast food for dinner all the time." Said Sho
"I know but poptarts aren't really food-" said Mob
"Sho, leave your sister alone. Either eat this, starve, or go and eat next door." Said Dad looking up from his phone. Mob used her powers to stick Sho's fork back into his hand. Dad was still frowning and Mob knew that it wasn't at his…at that lady. No, he could never be mad at her. He loved her even more than his own kids. He didn't even care about his own kids anymore…mostly. He only cared about Mukai but she was still little, when she grew up then Dad would tell her that he hated the person that she had become. That was why he wanted to have even more kids even though he had three of them…
It wasn't fair.
"I don't-" said Sho
"Why don't you go and have dinner with the others? I think Shibata's making something new, he seemed really excited. Mukai's there too and she probably misses you and…um…Ryou probably misses you too." Said Mob. She knew for a fact that Shimazaki missed Sho a lot. He'd told her so many times before that he missed hanging out with Sho. He liked to talk about his feelings and he said that she was a good listener…she didn't think so. She was just doing what you were supposed to do when someone was feeling bad. She was just listening to his troubles.
Even if she had just been his friend she would have done the same…it had nothing to do with how he felt about her.
"He probably misses you more than he misses me…" muttered Sho
"That's not true, he said-"said Mob
"Nobody cares how Shimazaki feels. His feelings are irrevelant, will never be releant, and therefore will never be spoken of at this table again. Am I making myself clear?" asked Dad
"Yes." Said Mob
"No, you're just being weird. Shimazaki-" said Sho
"We are not going to speak of that man. We're going to speak of something else so…so one of you speak of something pleasant or we're just going to sit in silence for the remainder of the meal." Said Dad
"What, like in A Quiet Place?" asked Sho
"Yes. This will be a quiet place." Said Dad
"No, I mean like in the movie. If we talk you're going to kill us or something?" asked Sho
"Films do not always reflect life and there were very few, if any, circumstances in which I would ever consider killing you. I may not like the people you've become but you're still both my children and I've invested a lot of time and money into raising you." Said Dad. That…wasn't as nice as it sounded and also nicer than anything he had said in a really long time. He didn't want them dead. That was good…not that she had been worried about him killing her. Sho on accident one day, maybe, but not her…but at least now she knew that they were safe.
He didn't hate them and he didn't want them dead…that shouldn't have made her as happy as it did.
"So, what, if this really was a quiet place world and there were sound monsters then you'd just let us die?" asked Sho
"Sho, there's no such thing as sound monsters…and I think that they were sound aliens, anyway, since they came down from space." Said Mob. Dad didn't seem mad, now, he wasn't frowning and his aura was back to normal. Maybe if they started talking about space then Dad would be happy. He loved outer space. He had said, before, that when he had been little he had wanted to be an astronaut when he was little. His parents had told him that he needed real career plans so now he was taking over the world…maybe he wanted to talk about his plans to take over the world instead?
Or maybe something else that made him happy…something that had nothing to do with that lady he was talking to…that b-word….
"Sound…what?" asked Dad
"It's from a movie. They're monsters that are attracted to sound…or maybe they're more like aliens." Said Mob
"No, they're monsters. Aliens are like people but with green skin and big heads." Said Sho
"But they came from outer space and that makes them aliens…I think." Said Mob
"Shigeko is correct. If a being comes from another world then it's an alien…now explain this film to me. Right now." Said Dad. Sho crossed his arms and sat back. Mob decided to take over before Sho and Dad started fighting again. Sure Dad didn't want to kill him but that didn't mean that he was going to be nice or anything like that.
"There are these monsters…aliens…and they don't like noise so they kill everyone who makes noise so people have to be very quiet and the world ends and a bunch of sad stuff happens-" said Mob
"Obviously sad things have happened if an apocalypse occurred." Said Dad
"Right, um, so there's the family and they live on a farm and they all know sign language because the girl is deaf and…um…do you want spoilers? Because I can't say anything else without spoiling it." Said Mob
"I…am intrigued. Continue." Said Dad
"Ok, so her little brother dies and her mom is having a baby, even though it's kind of dumb to have a baby when there are aliens that kill you when you make noise-" said Mob
"Children just come, there's no way to predict it." Said Dad with a wave of his hand. Mob and Sho looked at each other.
"But…there is." Said Mob. She didn't want to talk about this with her Dad. She didn't want to have to explain to him what he should have already known…but did he? He hadn't warned her about her period and he had said that Mukai was a mistake…she did not want to think about this part of her Dad's life…but if he realty didn't know where babies came from then that lady really was tricking him and now she was going to trick him into giving her another brother or sister to take care of.
"It's largely up to chance." Said Dad. He said that weird and he was looking at her weird, too. He kept on trying to read her shirt. It wasn't complicated, it just said 'Be Kind' in glitter…maybe the glitter made it hard to read. Not that she knew what he was reading her shirt for at a time like this.
"No it's not. You stick your dick in a girl and a baby comes out. I don't even like girls and I know that." Said Sho. The table jumped. Mob didn't know if that had been her or Dad or both of them. She stared at Sho. How could he have said that!? Her little brother was not allowed to talk about things like that! He wasn't even allowed to know about things like that! He was too little and…and now she was remembering things that had happened and…and Sho was not allowed to do things like that! Ever! With anyone! Even though it felt really good…no, not happening. Her little brother was going to stay little forever!
Maybe she should have let him have the poptarts after all….
"Obviously I am well aware of how children are conceived. I simply meant that it's largely up to chance and…and you're twelve years old, we do not need to be discussing this, and anyway you threw your only chance at any sort of a relationship with a girl away years ago. Now eat your food." Said Dad
"I'm not going to-"said Sho
"So then they have to put the baby in a box! I mean at the end they have to put the baby in a box so the alien monsters don't hear it when it cries and then…um…well before that the Dad makes a soundproof room but he dies…but that's a lot of spoilers…but they beat the monsters with loud sounds. I mean, um, you know the sound that happens when you put two microphones together? Well they don't like it and it hurts them so then they can be killed but it's not sad because they're the bad guys." Said Mob quickly, before Dad and Sho got a chance to start fighting.
"Don't ever put a baby in a box, it will die." Said Dad
"Um…I know that already? I mean, um, it's just a movie and it had a tiny air mask, too." Said Mob
"That's less worrying…but don't ever put your baby in a box…if you're planning on having children, that is." Said Dad in that same weird voice, and still trying to read her shirt.
"I thought you couldn't plan for babies, that they just came." Said Sho. Mob shook her head but he wouldn't stop. He was little but not so little that he didn't know to leave Dad alone, to not start fights with him and stuff….
"It's a little of both. You and Mukai were accidents, as was I, but many people aren't." said Dad. Sho's aura was mad, again, and he looked like he was about to stand up. Mob didn't blame him, it was a very hurtful thing to be called an accident, like you weren't supposed to exist….like your parents didn't want you to exist…maybe that was why Mom had left. Maybe she hadn't wanted Mob and Sho to exist but they did and then…and then she couldn't deal with it…
Mob wanted Shoko to exist.
Or Shigeo, but she was hoping for Shoko. Not that she was having a baby. Shimazaki didn't want to have one with her and she didn't want to have one with him. It would have been just too weird. Their entire relationship was weird but making a person together would have been too much. Not enough to make her leave her baby, of course, nothing would ever make her do that.
But she didn't exactly want to have another reason to avoid Shimazaki. Things were weird enough between them already.
"I was an accident too, Sho, so don't feel bad." Said Mob. Dad got another weird look, this time on his aura instead of his face.
"I don't feel bad about being born! Even though I was born wrong and you were born-" said Sho
"Many people in this world were…unplanned…and it is nothing to feel upset over. It doesn't matter how you came into the world, you're here and that's what matters. So do something with your lives already." Said Dad. Sho was looking at Dad, Dad was looking at Sho, and Mob was looking at both of them. She didn't know what she was supposed to say or do here. She just needed this to end…she just needed some kind of distraction….
"Do you guys want to watch the quiet place movie?! I mean we could move the TV in here and watch…or maybe my laptop but the TV has a bigger screen….I mean…." Said Mob, her voice getting softer and softer as she spoke. Now Sho and Dad were looking at her, which was good! They weren't looking at each other…but now she had to think of what to say and…and she didn't know….
Maybe it had been a bad idea. Maybe she had no idea what counted as a good or bad idea anymore.
"Wouldn't it make more sense to eat in the living room?" asked Sho
"I agree, it would make more…sense…." Said Dad. Sho was staring at Dad now. Dad had agreed with him…and now Mob was staring too. Dad was looking down at his phone. Maybe the only reason he had agreed with Sho was because he had been so distracted. By that woman, of course, that lady…that Dad tricker…that witch…that b-word…she thought that she could just come into their house and ruin what should have been a good night. Dad had actually agreed with Sho, that was rare, and he hadn't yelled at Sho or said anything mean to him…not once.
"You agree? With me? You're just messing with me…" said Sho. He looked right at Dad but Dad didn't look at him. He was staring at his phone, now, but he wasn't smiling like he had been before. No, his mouth was opened now and his eyebrows looked like they were trying to crawl up into his hair. His skin was pale, paler than normal, and his aura was perfectly still.
And very yellow.
Some people some people had auras that were two colors. MoM wasn't entirely sure what those two colors meant, but she was sure that they should have been equal. She knew that when she got upset her aura was more blue than pink. When Dad got upset his aura was more yellow than red. Now his aura was almost entirely yellow. He was shaking a little in his seat, his whole body , and his aura...his aura was perfectly still….
Mob got the feeling that this wasn't a good thing.
"Dad….?" Asked Mob. Dad was clutching his phone in his hand now, as hard as he could. His arm was shaking. She leaned over just as his screen began to erupt in a series of cracks. It went dark. Dad's eyes, the blue of them, were focused really hard….and he was breathing really hard too…and his aura was still yellow…
Mob reached over and tried to take his phone from him.
Because, really, it made sense. Obviously that lady, that Shiori, that bitch…and Mob was going to use that word now, had said something that had upset Dad. Now he was shaking and scared…that was it. He was scared. That was what his aura felt like and…and Dad wasn't supposed to be scared! This was her Dad and he wasn't afraid of anything. But now he was shaky and it was all that woman's fault. She was such a bitch, and the word fit. Mob couldn't think of a better word for someone who came into your house and messed with your family and made your Dad scared…even if your Dad was kind of a jerk sometimes…
Even the biggest jerk in the world didn't deserve to feel the way Dad felt right now.
Mob reached over the table and tried to take Dad's phone away, to make this better, to get them back to their normal dinner…but maybe that had been the wrong thing to do. Ok, so she knew that it was rude to take someone's phone out of their hand but Dad's didn't even look like it worked anymore. Not only was the screen cracked but he had folded it in two like a sandwich, now, with his powers. It actually kind of hurt to get near him…
But she knew what had to be done.
"Wait, don't-" said Sho as Mob reached across the table. Maybe she should have listened to him. The minute her hand made contact with Dad's phone, the very second, she found herself flying across the room. Her, the table, and Sho went right into the back wall of the kitchen. She had barely had time to put up a barrier…and even then it wasn't a good one. She'd caught herself, and Sho, before they splattered against the wall but dinner was another story entirely. Curry and rice spattered across the two of them from head to toe…
But at least they were ok. Mostly.
"Sho? Are you ok?" asked Mob as she looked him up and down. Sho was the one who mattered here, not her, and not…well maybe Dad mattered too. He was still sitting there in his chair, he hadn't moved, and he was still staring at his phone. His aura was still again and…and he was breathing funny. He was turning a weird color, too…and shaking. He was shaking like he was sitting outside in the middle of a winter storm…but he was inside and it was summer…
What the f-word had that lady SAID to him!?
"I'm fine! What the fuck is the matter with Dad?!" said Sho before he got pushed into Mob. She put another barrier up around them. That time the refrigerator tipped over and some tiles from the floor got ripped up. The whole time Dad was still in his chair and still staring at his phone…it must have been bad. Maybe she was getting another brother or sister…no, he would have been happy then. Maybe this meant that Shiori had run away, too, just like Mom had….but then why would she have told him that she was running away? Maybe this meant…maybe Mob had no idea what this meant. Maybe she just needed to…to…
To put up another barrier.
Dad fell down that last time. There was one more burst of power, this one ripping the tops off of the counters, and then Dad fell to the ground. He just slumped over and fell. His head bounced off of the floor and blood came from his forehead. That…that was not normal….none of this was normal! Mob tried to run forward but Sho grabbed her arm. He held her in place. He was stronger than her even without using his powers and she didn't want to use her powers against him, it was mean, but Dad…Dad needed her!
He may have been mean, and he may have called her an accident, and he may have hated the person that she had become but he was still her Dad and she loved him.
"Sho, you have to let go now. Dad needs me!" said Mob as she tried to pull her arm away. Sho wasn't letting go, though, no matter how hard she pulled.
"Fuck Dad!" said Sho
"Little Brother, you have to let go. Dad could be…he could be really hurt! He's not moving and…and I'm not sure if he's breathing…he could be dead!" said Mob
"Good! I hope that he's dead." Said Sho. Mob gasped. The rest of the tiles under their feet flew up towards the ceiling. How could….how could Sho, her own little brother, have said something so horrible?!
"Sho! No, you can't say things like that!" said Mob
"Why the hell not? I hope he's dead! I hope that he died just now and we're going to be free of him and-" said Sho. Mob knew that it was mean, using her powers on her brother, but she had no choice. She used her powers to pull her arm free from his grasp. This was…she would talk to him about this later. Even as mean as Dad had been to him over the years Mob still didn't get it. How could Sho have said something so awful? How could he have wished death upon Dad? You weren't ever supposed to wish that upon anyone!
One thing at a time.
"You're not supposed to say things like that and-and-and we'll talk about that later! Right now…right now I have to help Dad!" said Mob. She took a step forward but Sho's barrier appeared in front of her. She shattered it with a wave of her hand. Sho took a step back and didn't try again. Good. She didn't want to fight with him or anyone right now.
She just wanted to save Dad.
She ran over to Dad and…and realized that she had no idea what she was supposed to do here. He was laying on the ground that his head was bleeding, so maybe she should have moved him, but she had also heard that you were never supposed to move a person when they were passed out. She wasn't even sure if he was breathing period was his heart still beating? How did you check if someone's heart was beating? He was slumped over on his stomach, so unless she moved him she won't be able to feel his heart, but if she did move him what if she made everything ten times worse!? Now put your hands together and try to breathe. Her aura was moving a lot, she had to calm down. She took a deep breath. In for four, out for four, just like Tsuchiya had showed her….
It didn't really help.
"How are you going to help Dad? What, do you have healing powers too now?" asked Sho. He stayed where he was, far away, and Mob didn't know what she wanted. She wanted him by her side of course, but there was nothing he could do. If there was nothing that she could do and there was nothing that he could do then...then what in the hell where were they supposed to do!?
She didn't know. She just didn't know.
"No, I don't…I mean I'm pretty sure that I don't but…but I know who does! Sho, go to Fukuda's house and get him!" said Mob. They are. That was something she could do. Fukuda was the one who healed people and Fukuda was the one who would help Dad. He would come if Sho got him. Well he would have come anyway, he and Dad were best friends, but she knew that Sho was his favorite person in the world. He didn't like Mob anymore, and she didn't really like him all that much either, and she didn't want to have to deal with him being mean to her, not right now. This was life and death.
This was no time for Fukuda's mean nonsense.
"He's not home and even if he was then I wouldn't!" said Sho stomping his foot like he was Mukai or something. This was not the time. She knew that he was little, that he was younger than her, but only by six months! He was old enough to know how serious this was. She had seen Dad get shot at, get bombs thrown at him, and one time even there had been a fire but he'd always come out ok. She had never seen him sick or hurt…she had never seen him like this before….
She didn't like this at all.
"I-I don't have time for this! Do you know where he is? Can you go and get him?" asked Mob
"I don't know where he went and even if I did I wouldn't go and get him. Can't you see? This is a good thing. He's a jerk and an asshole and-and he's trying to take over the world! Things aren't ever going to get better if he does. He's never going to get better and…and this is better than someone stopping him. This is easier than-" said Sho
"Sho! Enough! If you don't want to help then-then at least stop talking! Stop saying those horrible things and let me think!" said Mob. There were all kinds of things wrong with what Sho had said, more things than she could think of right now. She couldn't think of anything right now. Her head felt busy, like she had a whole bunch of people in there and they were all shoving. Like all of the emotions in her head were fighting over the console…
Everyone but happiness.
There wasn't any happiness here, just fear….she was afraid that Dad was dying and…and she was disgusted by all the blood and…and she was mad that Sho was saying all of those horrible things and…and she was scared that she wasn't going to have a Dad anymore. She didn't want to be an orphan. She didn't want Dad to…to go away. She had already lost a Mom and…and now she was going to be totally out of parents….now she was going to have to be the parent. Sho….Sho needed her to take care of him and….and she didn't know what to do! He was saying these horrible things and…and she wanted to take him and shake him and yell at him to shut up but…but that wouldn't fix this and…and she wished she knew which emotion she was supposed to feel right now!
It helped to think of them as a bunch of little Mob's.
Like there were a bunch of little Mob's inside of her head and she was making a bunch of memory bubbles and….and this was maybe going to be a personality island now or something….maybe she shouldn't have watched Inside Out before making dinner. This was real life, this was really happening, and all she could think about was some dumb movie!
They were supposed to have been watching a movie right now…..
"What the fuck is there to even think about!? You want to save him then, fine, you go out and you find Fukuda and you save him! He's your Dad, not mine!" shouted Sho before he ran away. She didn't know what he meant by that, obviously they had both come from Dad, but she wasn't going to go chasing after him or anything. No, she was going to…she was going to find Fukuda….she was going to figure out where he had gone and…and she didn't know!
She had no idea where Fukuda even was…
She wiped her eyes. There was black on the back of her hand. Her eye makeup was ruined…she had put on makeup this morning. She had put on makeup like normal and Dad had given her a look like normal and…and it had all been normal. She had put in a load of laundry like normal and made dinner like normal and…and the weirdest thing that was supposed to have happened was them watching a movie. Dinner and a show or…or maybe more like dinner theatre. She didn't know the exact word for it but…but it might have been fun. They might have even all gotten along. Sure she didn't like scary movies and Dad…well he hadn't ever liked much of anything that wasn't outer space or taking over the world or…or videogames…old ones…the kind he and Hatori played….
Hatori was good at finding people!
The lights above her head brunt bright. That was a good idea! The little Mob in her head, Happiness, had found an idea! Had an idea! There was…there was a lightbulb and it was a good one! Hatori could look through cameras and find anyone in the whole world…well not Mom but…but she didn't want to be found and…and this wasn't even about Mom! This was about Dad! Hatori and Dad were best friends, if one of them had been a girl then they would have had friendship bracelets, and of course Hatori would have helped and Shimazaki was home too! Shimazaki could teleport anywhere and bring Fukuda right over before Mob would even blink…and he loved her, too, and he would do anything for her….
This was great!
Mob ran out of the house without putting shoes on. She didn't care if she stepped in something sharp or something gross or someone saw her. She had to save Dad! She ran as fast as she could, her feet hurting, her heart pounding, and her hair coming out of it's braid. Her aura followed her, trailing behind only to grab onto things. It wanted to stay near Dad. She took a chunk of the wall out as she ran from the house…shoes from the genkan…part of the door…even bits of concrete as she ran down the sidewalk. She didn't care if she broke the entire city, if all the normal people in the world saw her, if she opened up a hole right to the center of the Earth! She needed to save Dad!
Dad was the only person who mattered right now.
She threw the door opened with her powers and ran into the house. Everyone's aura was bright and there was some kind of yelling but she couldn't focus on that right now. She ran through the house, into the living room, where everyone was shouting at Shimazaki….well that didn't matter. He was always getting on people's nerves. She would make him say sorry for whatever it was that he had done later, right now she needed him to save Dad's life!
If he was even still alive.
"Shimazaki…Ryou! Quick, go get Fukuda! I think my Dad died!" shouted Mob as loudly as she could. She couldn't see Hatori…she could feel him but not see him. That was…well Shimazaki could find people too and right now she didn't care how Fukuda was found, she just wanted him here right now! Dad might have been dead or dying and…and why the f-word was everyone just starting at her like that?!
"Didn't you hear me!? My Dad needs help! Go and get Fukuda!" shouted Mob. There was silence now from everyone but Mukai. She was shouting and kicking the wall and…and this must have been a big fight that she had walked into but…but it didn't matter! Dad was dying and all anyone could think to do was stare at her!?
"Are you guys deaf? My Dad-" said Mob
"Mob, you didn't tell Toshi we were together?" asked Shimazaki. Mob couldn't breathe. She couldn't talk. She couldn't think. That was…everyone was looking at her now and…and they knew, everyone but Dad knew, but this was not the time to TALK about it! Well there was never a time when she wanted to talk about it but…but this was an emergency and….and….
Wait, Minegishi didn't know?
"Mob, tell me that Ryou's lying. Tell me that he's finally lost his mind. Tell me that he's high or drunk or has brain damage or-" said Minegishi
"I-I don't know what he is and-and I don't want to talk about this right now! My Dad is dying and-" said Mob. Everyone was staring at her…everyone but Serizawa. He was sitting in the corner behind his umbrella. She wanted to join him. She wished that she could have run over and hidden from the whole world right behind that umbrella but…but she couldn't. Dad needed her.
She had to focus on Dad and not…not that Minegishi didn't know that she and Shimazaki were….
But they had said that it was ok! They had said…Dad was important. Dad was the most important thing right now and…and Mob had to calm down. Her aura had pulled the light fixture down out of the ceiling. Hatori had screamed and dove behind Serizawa's umbrella…so that was where he had been hiding, behind Shibata…..Shibata who had hulked out of his shirt. He was mad…Tsuchiya had hulked out of her sleeves…was she mad too? What…what was going on? And why was Minegishi asking about Shimazaki and…and had they been TALKING about it and…and….and…
She didn't get to feel embarrassed right now. Dad needed her.
"Mob! Nobody in this room, in the world, cares if your Dad dies. Right now we, I, need to get to the bottom of this! And there had better not be anything for me to get to the bottom of!" said Minegishi as they turned towards Shimazaki. Their face was red and their aura was showing. The plants…had there always been so many of them…they were growing long vines and Venus flytrap heads…but this was not the time to be getting mad or talking about relationships or…or saying horrible things!
Why would they have said something so horrible….
"I care-" said Hatori, raising his hand. Minegishi looked at him, their aura jumped to him, and he jumped away with a shriek. At least Hatori cared….but why didn't everyone else!?
"If you care so much then go to him. I don't need to deal with you or this or-or-or I just…Ryou! What in the hell is the matter with you!? How could you…I trusted you. I told myself over and over again that I was-" said Minegishi
"Toshi, what are you so pissed off about? Mob and I are together. I don't know why she didn't tell you, I assume that she had-" said Shimazaki. He stepped forward to put a hand on their shoulder. Immediately all the plants around them grew thorns and sprang into action. Mob reached out and made them go back to normal before Minegishi could hurt Shimazaki.
There was already one hurt person to deal with, they didn't need two.
"Just stop talking! Now!" shouted Minegishi as they reached out with their powers. They looked at Mob with wide eyes. She could feel them trying to take control back from her. They wouldn't be able to. Mob wasn't going to let them, she needed Shimazaki alright. She didn't need Fukuda to spend time and energy on anyone other than Dad right now.
"What? What are all of you so pissed off about?" asked Shimazaki
"You slept with…you….you know what you did!" shouted Shibata. Mob was red. She didn't need to look in the mirror to know that her face was the same color as a ripe tomato. Shibata had just…he had just come out and said it! She couldn't think of a worse person to come out and say it. She knew…she had thought that everyone knew already. That was what people did when they were in relationships and Fukuda had been telling anyone who would listen, since before Mob had even starting doing things, that she had been doing things with Shimazaki and…and didn't it go without saying at this point?! And why was everyone bringing this up now!?
Dad could have been dead and they were talking about her doing all the things with Shimazaki!?
"No, actually, I don't. Do you think I'd be standing here asking, letting Suzuki die, if I knew what everyone was losing their shit over?" asked Shimazaki
"I can't believe I trusted you! I trusted you with my daughter and you-you-you-" said Tsuchiya
"Can we all please stop fighting!?" asked Serizawa from behind his umbrella. He needed her…he needed her and not Hatori. She could tell from here that he wasn't helping. He was saying some stuff about it happening again and about not being a good friend and…and Serizawa didn't need to hear that right now. He didn't need to hear any of this….
She had no idea why they were discussing any of this while her Dad was laying on the floor dying.
"Can you please-" said Mob, trying to get everyone's attention. They were all talking at once, now, like they were just one big noise blob. Tsuchiya was shouting and Shibata was threatening Shimazaki…Mukai was running around saying that she was mad….Serizawa was crying…but the loudest voice of all was Minegishi's…
They were upset…why were THEY the one who was upset here?!
"Mob, not now. Don't talk…just….Ryou! Shimazaki! What the fuck is the matter with you!? How could you…you…you slept with her?! She is…Mob is a child! She's thirteen and you-you-I can't even look at you! I can't stand the sight of…get out of my sight! Get out of my sight and out of my life! It's over-" said Minegishi. They might have said something more after that, Mob stopped listening. She just stopped. It was like her ears had stopped working or her brain had stopped being able to understand what her ears heard or…or something. Or maybe there just wasn't anything that was worth hearing after Minegishi had said that…that…
That they were breaking up with Shimazaki.
"No!" shouted Mob. They were not allowed to break up with him…not over her. This was what she had been afraid of and…and they had said that it was ok! They had said that she could have sex with whoever she wanted to and…and that sex didn't have to mean anything more than sex…and it didn't! It didn't mean anything more than she had liked the way it felt and-and it wasn't worth breaking up true love over! Dad might have been dying and now her best friend's relationship might have been dying too….and….and…
And this was not allowed to happen!
"Mob…Suzuki…stay out of this! This is not…this is between all of us and Shimazaki-" said Minegishi
"No! I will not stay out of this or of-of anything! You and Shimazaki are NOT allowed to break up and not because of me or…or because of anything and…and I don't want to talk about this! I am NOT a child and…and I'm the boss of you and everyone so-so do what I say! Now stop fighting and find Fukuda and help my Dad and-and-and stop looking at me!" shouted Mob. She shouted and stomped her foot just like Mukai did when she wanted people to listen to her. Mob didn't like this, being mean and bossy, but right now she had no choice. Nobody was listening to her. They were all too busy talking about her and Shimazaki…about things that they had no business talking about!
None of this was anyone's business.
She had always hated it when Fukuda talked about her like this, about the things that he thought she must have been doing. It was worse now that she was actually doing those things, and even worse still since now it was her friends talking about this. They were back to staring, now, all of them. She could feel their eyes and their auras and…and now they knew. Somehow they hadn't known before but they knew how and…and she was warm. She was way too warm. They knew…they knew everything and…and this was….this was what they chose to do instead of helping Dad….
Dad needed help.
"Right now!" shouted Mob. She screamed one and then turned and ran out the door. So long as she was there then…then there was no chance that Dad was going to get any help. So she had to leave. It all made sense and…and this was…this was the right thing to do. Dad needed help and now he would get it and…and now people would stop staring at her and thinking about the things she did and…and Minegishi wouldn't want to break up with Shimazaki and…and she had thought that they knew! She had thought….she had…she had thought that it was ok! She had thought…she had….
She had to get out of here.
So she did. She ran out of the house and down the street…and she kept on running. She didn't dare stop. If she stopped then she would think about what had happened. She would think about how she might have been an orphan, how she had almost ruined true love, how all of her friends were talking about the things she did, about how she had made the worst mistake of her life and now she was paying for it. She was running without shoes on. The ground was hot and hard…but she had to keep on running…she couldn't stop, she couldn't turn back, she had to keep running.
She didn't like to run but she had to…she had to get away.