Tamaki had asked for an audience with President Suzuki, not President Hatori.

Tamaki had asked for this audience months in advance. With the President, not his son…and this was his son. His blood son. There was no other explanation for the teenager sitting in President Suzuki's desk, in his office, in Tokyo HQ. Hatori Nozomu. One of the President's illegitimate children, like Sagami Mukai, the Scar's daughter. That was the way that it had always gone for powerful men, wasn't it? Illegitimate children everywhere. Tamaki didn't get to have an opinion on this, he was only a division leader, and even if he had been in the upper echelon he was smart enough not to go and criticize the way President Suzuki led his life. The president's illegitimate children were none of his business...

...but the state of the First Division was.

The Division came first. It would always come first. Without the Divisions then there was no Claw. Sure all the big decisions came out of Tokyo but it was the Divisions that were the lifeblood of Claw…or maybe more like the lymphatic system. That made more sense. The Divisions were the lymph nodes and the Scars were white blood cells. He had no idea what this system made President Hatori…just Hatori. San, not Sama.

There was no way in hell he was calling this kid President Hatori.

This self-important teenager with his feet up on the President's desk and some kind of Gameboy in his hand. He couldn't have been more than nineteen…maybe twenty or twenty one if he was going to be generous. This kid held the fate of the first Division, no, the entirety of Claw in his orange, greasy hands…

May God have mercy on them all.

"…so as I was saying, the First Division can handle the initial uprising on our own. We just request-" said Tamaki, trying to be heard above the explosions of Hatori's game. He forced himself to stay calm. He still didn't see well out of his right eye. He didn't need to lose vision in his left, too. Not that he was afraid of the kid sitting in front of him, no, it was the unstable powerhouse sitting behind him.

Yes. That was clearly someone to be afraid of.

"Damn it!" Said Hatori. The man behind him gasped and clutched his umbrella to his chest. Serizawa. One of the inner circle, Vice President Suzuki's inner circle. The very best friends, as the blue ribbons called them. Vice President Suzuki had been collecting the most powerful espers in Claw for her own personal inner circle. Tamaki hadn't made the cut, though he understood why. Her telekinesis was the stuff of legend, she had no need for his. She only chose the truly powerful, the useful, or just members of her family…

If Tamaki hadn't known better he would have said something about the President's nepotism problem.

"We simply request-" said Tamaki, speaking a little louder and a little more politely. President Suzuki was a sucker for deference. So long as you didn't waste his time and spoke politely he would grant your request so long as it was in reason. Tamaki didn't think that his request was so out of line. He needed more Awakened soldiers for the uprising. Surely some could have been spared. He knew how difficult it was to make an Awakened soldiers, the quality of artificial espers was spotty at best, but there was still time to get him at least a hundred more. That was what he needed, two hundred, then he could take Sendai. He didn't think that it was too much to ask.

But his thoughts on the matter were irrelevant.

"Fuck!" said Hatori loudly, kicking both of his feet on the desk. A pile of papers went fluttering to the ground. Tamaki would have caught them with his powers if he'd had the chance. He hadn't, though, thanks to the massive wave of energy that was headed right towards him. He put up a barrier…he was safe.

He hoped, though, that none of those documents had been important.

"We only need-" said Tamaki as he let his barrier down. What he needed to do, what he wanted to do, was knock the Gameboy out of Hatori's hands. Even Vice President Suzuki didn't act like this and she was an actual child…at least he thought that she was. She was thirteen but even with Claw's nepotism problem it was…unthinkable…that a child that young would have been given that much power. She'd been even younger when she'd given her first address during the first of the President's long sabbaticals.

"Mother fucker! You think you can fuck with me like that? Really? That's what you think you're going to-" said Hatori, kicking the desk so hard that he fell backwards. There was a gasp, a yell, and then Hatori was suspended in the air.

"Hatori!" said Serizawa, holding out a hand. Hatori fell back down onto the ground, his chair threatening to give out from the sound of it. Tamaki kept still. It wasn't easy even for him to lift something as heavy as a human being with telekinesis. Human beings moved, too, which made it hard to get a grip on them. Normal people were easier than espers. Auras made it harder…

And that man back there, the one cowering behind a closed umbrella, had done it like it was nothing.

The Marquis kept his mouth shut. He was going to keep his theories to himself, theories that he knew not to spout off to people, there is like the fact that president Suzuki may have had another illegitimate son. How old was President Suzuki even? He was somewhere in his forties, he knew that. How old was that man back there, Serizawa? He looked to be in at least his late twenties, or his early thirties. It could have been another one of President Suzuki's children….not that it was any of Tamaki's business if he was or was not…

He was going to keep his mouth shut about this. He didn't know what President Suzuki did to people who gossiped about him but Tamaki got the feeling that it was worse than what he did to people who talked during meetings.

"Huh? What? Oh yeah, what do you need again?" asked Hatori as he got his balance again.

"We need more Awakened soldiers for uprising. We only have one hundred, around one hundred, useful-" said Tamaki as clearly as he could. President Suzuki like it when people got straight to the point. He hated small talk, actually, and usually either told the person wasting his time to shut their mouth or he directed any and all small talk to Fukuda, his other second in command…

A much more reasonable man than Hatori seemed to be.

Fukuda wasn't exactly a kind man but he was fair. An audience with him would have been more productive…but he was also more likely to say 'no'. He was a lot more frugal with just about everything than the President was, and a lot less likely to hear you out unless you did a lot of ass kissing. He relished in it, not like President Suzuki….but still, it would have been more pleasant to sit there and kiss Fukuda's ass for hours than to sit here with this self-important teenager!

But then again this was Claw and there was very little about it that was easy or pleasant.

"You have plenty of Awakened but if you want more just take come from here. We have plenty." Said Hatori with a wave of his hand. That was it? Just…no? A blanket no? Maybe he just hadn't understood what was being asked of him. His mind had clearly been on more important things. Even Vice President Suzuki would have heard him out and she was an actual child! Sure she had some very strange antiviolence policies and her friendship cult was not something that he ever wanted to be sucked into….

At least she was easy to talk to.

"I said 'Awakened Soldiers' not just the Awakened. There's a difference." Said Tamaki slowly and respectfully….as respectfully as he could manage. The difference between Awakened and Awakened soldiers…it should not have been something which needed explaining. The difference was like night and day…

Who was this kid?

"Awakened are Awakened." Said Hatori with a wave of his hand. Who was he and what did he think that…who did he think that he was? President Suzuki would have at least known…no wonder this was the son that he hadn't acknowledged until recently. No wonder that the little redheaded boy had been and still was his publicly acknowledged heir. Tamaki would have taken the little redheaded boy above…above this…

Sure the boy's temper was legendary, like his father's, but at least he'd had an excuse to act like a child.

"No, with all do respect all Awakened are not built the same. The soldiers are the Awakened with actual combat potential. If we're going to center the uprising around Sendai then we need more manpower." Said Tamaki slowly, clearly, and a little less politely. He was talking like he would have to a ten year old, not that he spoke to many ten year olds, child espers being as rare as they were. Second generation espers were even rarer….and they'd be even rarer yet if Hatori didn't-

Vision in his right eye was still fuzzy.

He forced himself to calm down. He didn't need another scar. He didn't need to get into another fight. Proving himself against the President had been hard enough on his body. He didn't need to prove himself against the President's Son's bodyguard. There was no way that this boy was capable of fighting his own battles. Technopath, a powerful one but useless in a real fight. Hence the powerhouse behind him. The unstable powerhouse, if his aura was anything to go off of. Tamaki needed to stay calm. He needed to get through this audience. He needed to control his temper for his own good and the good of the Division.

The things he did for Claw.

"Who says that it's being centered around Sendai? What's even in Sendai?" asked Hatori, biting one of his fingernails off. Tamaki did his best not to look disgusted, both with the display in front of him and with the sheer amount of ignorance he'd just heard. Was this a game to him? The President had made himself very clear. He wanted Sendai because it had been near where his home. Not the best reason but still…it was a major city and people wouldn't have suspected it.

"That's where the President is from! I mean it's where he used to live. He moved there after he met his wife, his first wife, because he'd set up a Division there and he'd wanted to be close to it but not super close and…and that's just what he told me, anyway, he didn't…he didn't tell me anything else besides that…sorry." Said Serizawa. Hatori leaned back in his chair, shook his head, and then leaned forward again. Tamaki didn't exactly blame him for that. When the president's reasoning was just set out like that then it did sound kind of…odd….but who was Tamaki to question President Suzuki of all people?

"We're not centering the uprising around Sendai, that's dumb. We're centering it around Tokyo." Said Hatori

"Tokyo…sir? May I ask what your reasoning for taking Tokyo is?" asked Tamaki. That was the stupidest thing he'd ever heard. They'd take Tokyo when they had the strength to take it. This was the capitol of Japan. Of course people would be more ready to defend it. They were trying to pick the Japanese military apart and weaken it, not have it all converge on the capitol! It was just bad strategy!

"It's the capitol, obviously. We can take the imperial palace, Tokyo Tower, Akihabara-" said Hatori

"Disneyland too! I mean Miss Suzuki loves it there and it would make her happy if…if it was a part of Claw since she also loves Claw a lot…" said Serizawa

"Yeah, and we can take Disneyland for Mob. That'll cheer her up…" said Hatori

"Sir? If I may ask, and in the most…respectful way possible…do you know when Vice President Suzuki will be in again? Or President Suzuki himself?" asked Tamaki

"No idea but that doesn't matter. I'm the one in charge here so anything you need goes through me." Said Hatori

"Is Fukuda in?" asked Tamaki

"Yeah, but I outrank him so whatever." Said Hatori

"What is your rank, actually, if I may ask?" asked Tamaki

"What's my…are you blind? Can you see the desk? Can you see this office? Where are we right now? We're in the President's office and I'm the President. Try and keep up." Said Hatori. He even kicked the desk for emphasis…Tamaki exhaled. This was what it was and he had to make the best of it.

"Yes…I can see that your father left you in charge…but I was simply inquiring about the limits of your power. President Suzuki and I spoke at length about the uprising and it was decided that taking Sendai first would be best. Tokyo was saved for-" said Tamaki

"Tokyo makes the most sense so that's what we'll be taking first and if you have a problem with it then you're welcome to give up your job as Division Leader and pass it off to someone else. Someone who can actually follow orders." Said Hatori

"No! No, the last thing I want to be is demoted-" said Tamaki quickly. He had been good! He had done everything right and-and he was not going to lose everything that he'd worked for! He hadn't nearly lost an eye to be just another Scar. He was better than that. Even amongst espers he stood head and shoulders taller! He was not going to go back to being just like everyone else! Going from being a Division Leader to a Scar…he might as well have gone back to being a civilian!

"Hatori wouldn't do that to you! I mean he's actually very nice once you get to know him and-" said Serizawa quickly. Tamaki blinked, any and all anger leaving his body in an instant. Was this guy for real?

"Serizawa! What the hell?! Don't tell people that, I'm trying to hold onto power here! Can't you see that?" asked Hatori, turning around and tossing his Gameboy behind him. Serizawa ducked and threw himself to the ground. Tamaki tried not to laugh. That was…he didn't even know what that was….

"I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. I just thought that if I were in your place I wouldn't have wanted people to think of me as being a mean person and-and also you can be kind of mean sometimes…not that it makes you a mean person! You just get really into what you're doing and you lose yourself and…and that's just not who you are. That's all." Said Serizawa as he picked himself up off the ground.

"You're way too nice for this job….sorry about that. You alright?" asked Hatori, his voice softening. Serizawa nodded and handed him back his Gameboy.

"I-I'm fine, I shouldn't have interrupted you like that. That wasn't…that wasn't right for me. I shouldn't have just…you said not to say anything and I should have listened to you. I was being a bad friend and-and-and please forgive me!" said Serizawa. Tamaki said nothing. He had so much he wanted to say, of course. He wanted to ask if Serizawa was for real, if any of this was for real. This was…he had never spoken to Vice President Suzuki in any great length of time but he got the feeling that she would have said something like that…so maybe this was another one of President Suzuki's kids…

He needed to stop having kids.

Not that Tamaki got to have an opinion about this. No, he had no right to question President Suzuki…any aspect of his being or his life. He had no right to…he had to remember his place. He reached up and felt his eye. People lived longer in Claw if they knew their places. People did better in Claw if they knew their place. He wanted to rise high and live a long time…he'd already risen as high as he possibly could. He was just a Scar. That was all. He was just a Scar and he would never rise as high as Hatori had. He wasn't one of President Suzuki's children. He was just Tamaki and….and he had to accept that. He had to know his place.

It was better to be a Scar than a normal person…than a nobody…even if it meant that he had to deal with things like this.

"I forgive you, we're ok. It's not like you…well it's not like you did something horrible and unforgivable." Said Hatori

"I-I would never!" said Serizawa

"I know you wouldn't, you're Serizawa. Anyway you want to go and judge and the live action Smash tournament? It's starting soon. Unless you want to go chair jousting." Said Hatori. Tamaki didn't know what he was supposed to do. It sounded like his audience was over before it had even started. So that was it? A blanket no? He…he knew his place. He knew his place and…and he held his tongue. He kept his temper in check. It wasn't hard…it shouldn't have been this hard. This was Claw, it was nothing but big tempers and even bigger blowups…

He was a Division Leader. He couldn't act like this.

"I…I'll go wherever you go, Hatori." Said Serizawa

"Well then we're going to the live action Smash tournament. You can close your eyes if it-" said Hatori before he was cut off. There was a shift in the energy in the room. There was a shift, then a sort of…ozone? If that was the word for that smell…and then…

And then he was looking at Shimazaki Ryou.

Holding an aquarium.

Tipping over an aquarium.

Over Hatori.

"What in the hell is the matter with you?!" shouted Hatori before the aquarium shattered. Tamaki jumped back and tipped over out of his chair. No. He was not dealing with that guy. He didn't know him personally and he didn't need to. That was Shimazaki Ryou. He'd seen Shimazaki's work, he knew what he was capable of. He had no idea what that aquarium thing had been about and, really, he didn't need to know.

It was none of his business and he had no desire to make it his business.

"No! Please, no more fighting!" shouted Serizawa. There was a burst of power, the sound of shattering glass, and the next thing Tamaki knew he was out in the hallway. He'd managed to keep his barrier up, that was the only thing that had saved him. He didn't stick around to test it again.

He ran.

He didn't want to stay and see what came next. There was another burst of purple energy, it could be felt down the hall. He didn't need to stay and see that something horrible was happening….but what? A coup? People planned those all the time…a power struggle? Internal or external. Shimazaki worked for the Suzuki family, President Suzuki specifically, but there were rumors about him and Vice President Suzuki…was she taking power from her brother? Infighting with the kids? He didn't know…he wasn't going to stick around long enough to find out!

He had to get out of here! He didn't care about his audience with President Suzuki, he could make another appointment later…if there was even going to be a Tokyo HQ around later!