The one thing that didn't hurt were Serizawa's feet.

His head was killing him, it was way too hot and loud out here, and his whole body had that shaky feeling he got when he got really scared, and even his eyes were starting to hurt from the bright light of the summer sun, but his feet were perfectly fine. Not like Miss Suzuki, Tsuchiya, and Minegishi. They had to keep on taking breaks every so often because of all the walking.

Miss Suzuki especially.

"Do you need to take another break?" asked Mob as she came to a stop in the middle of the sidewalk. She brushed some sweat off of her fore head with one hand and reached down and rubbed her foot with the other. She stood on one foot and worked her hand under her sandals. Her powers would have worked better but she was in public now.

There were a lot of normal people around.

She was glad that Sho and Mukai had red hair, it was easy to pick them out of the crowd. She would have thought that this place would have had shorter lines than Disneyland since it wasn't anything close to what Disneyland was. There was no Elsa, the stage shows weren't as good, and they only had one kind of collectible popcorn bucket. But no, the lines were the same, and there was just as much walking. Maybe even more. Her feet were killing her…

Maybe she should have worn something other than her sparkly gel sandals.

"I-I'm fine, Miss Suzuki. We can keep going…um…there's another coin block we can go to." Said Serizawa as he reached down and tried to help support her. He wiggled his toes in his shoes. He wished that he hadn't felt fine. He wished that he'd felt as bad as she had. She leaned into him and she transferred her weight to her other foot. Poor Miss Suzuki…maybe they should have all taken another break…not that he was the one who decided what they did. No, that was Miss Suzuki….mostly.

Sometimes it was Mukai.

"Coin block! Coin block! Coin block!" said Mukai as she ran back to where all the grownups were. She didn't know why they were all walking so slow. She and Sho had been running, that was the only way to get around here. There were coin blocks everywhere and you had to find them all. It was a rule!

Grownups were so weird sometimes.

"Mukai, slow down! You're going to trip again." Said Tsuchiya as she caught up. She was so out of shape. She needed to add more cardio to her workout regime…it went on her list of things to do. Her long list of things to do. She had so much she had to do…but she had to go with Mukai. Where Mukai went, she went. She didn't want her three year old nearly all alone in a strange city….

And so close to her father.

She could feel the President's aura. She was curious, a bit, as to what he was doing to out of the way from everything. Claw didn't have a base in Osaka. Claw didn't have anything at all in Osaka. There was nothing at all in Osaka, nothing but worse heat than anything she had felt in her entire life…but then again she was from the north. She shouldn't have even cared what the President was doing up here. She just had to worry about him taking Mukai from her…and he had been ready to. He had been ready to take her away just as easy as he'd given her away…she could never leave Mukai…

No matter how bad this place was for the both of them.

"No Mama, it's time to go fast! You and me go fast right now!" shouted Mukai as she tugged as hard as she could on Mama. It took more tugs than she could count to get Mama to run with her. She didn't get it, didn't Mama want to collect coins? Why did she have a bracelet if she didn't want to collect coins? And why didn't the other grownups?

She wished that Ryou was here. He would have collected coins with her.

"Mukai, wait, you're too short, you need me!" said Sho as he ran past the slowpokes. Tsuchiya was taller than him but she didn't say funny stuff like 'It's a me!' or 'let's a go!' or other stuff that made Mukai laugh. Actually she'd been pretty down this whole trip, everyone had. He didn't get it. Mukai was happy, this was a fun place, and Dad was far away with his girlfriend. There was no chance at all that he would ruin this. Fukuda was far away too so there was double no chance that this would get ruined…and, yeah, he sounded like a dickhole's dickhole but Fukuda…well he did kind of ruin things when Big Sis was around…and he didn't want this to be ruined.

He wanted everyone to be happy for once…he wanted to be happy for once.

"In one ear and out the other." Said Minegishi as Mukai dragged Tsuchiya away and Sho followed, shouting something about Tsuchiya not knowing what she was doing. His voice merged with the voices of the other kids…it was so damn loud around here. They had seen Serizawa periodically covering his ears, they didn't blame him. As difficult as this must have been on them it must have been worse on him. This was probably beyond overstimulating for him. They made eye contact with Serizawa. He gasped and looked away…honestly. If Ryou had been there he would have laughed…but they didn't care about that. Ryou could laugh at whatever he wanted to laugh at, they didn't care.

"Sho, don't….and he's still running. You guys can run too if you want. My feet hurt too much to run." Said Mob

"We can take a break if you want, Miss Suzuki." Said Serizawa, taking care not to look at Minegishi. He never knew what to say to them…not that he ever talked to them, not unless they said something first…but if they said something to him it took him a while to say something and then when he said something it always turned out to be the wrong thing and…and what did you even say to someone who you'd kissed?!

The only person he could have asked was Miss Suzuki, since she'd kissed people before, but he wouldn't be doing that. You weren't supposed to talk to girls about that stuff.

"No, we can't. Mukai and Sho don't want to take a break." Said Mob as she got back to rubbing her other foot. Socks would have been better…soft, fluffy ones. She could have gotten new socks…but then again Minori had said never to wear socks with sandals, not that Minori was still her friend. They weren't ever going to hang out again so Mob didn't know what she was so worried about…maybe because she had posted that she was gong to Osaka…why did everyone have to be in Osaka? Everyone she didn't want to talk to. Minori, her dad….Dad's girlfriend…

Well that last one was easy, this was her home.

Technically Mob was the one who shouldn't have been here. She could feel Dad in her passive range. If she focused and expanded her aura outwards she could have felt dad's girlfriend…her name was Shiori. She could have felt Shiori and…and she didn't want to. She didn't want to be here…well she wanted her brother and sister and friends to be happy…

She just wished that they had been happy somewhere far away from Dad.

"So we're living our lives according to the whims of a three year old now?" asked Minegishi

"Kind of, I mean I want Mukai to be happy but I also want to get out of here as soon as we can." Said Mob

"I-I'm sorry that you brought me here! I mean I'm sorry that I made you-" said Serizawa

"You didn't make me do anything, I wanted to come here. Besides, it was mostly Sho who wanted to come. He was bored of Disneyland and…and I guess maybe I was too. I'm having a lot of fun, I like collecting the coins, I mostly just…I just don't want to be in the same city as Dad and his girlfriend." Said Mob

"Mob stop being ridiculous and get the rest of the coins." Said Minegishi rolling their eyes. They could feel Suzuki too. Whatever, it was a big city, and obviously he didn't want to be found. Obviously the fact that he had done nothing to protect Mob or teach her anything or raise her in any way was too much for him to handle…or maybe he just didn't care.

They didn't know and they didn't care, they just needed to sit down.

"Ok…come on, Serizawa. Let's get coins and then, um, we can ride the Luigi ride again. That's good for when your feet hurt." Said Mob as Minegishi walked over to the bench Tsuchiya was sitting at. A lot of people's feet hurt. She should have thought to get everyone good walking shoes. Better ones than they were wearing…than she was wearing. She just felt better about herself in her blue gel sandals with all the glitter. She always felt better about herself in blue…sort of like Serizawa and how he always wore pajamas or Sho in his jacket even though it was thirty two degrees outside.

She probably would have felt better with socks on, though. She should have thought of that.

"That would be nice, but mine don't hurt that much." Said Serizawa as he kept on helping support Miss Suzuki. Her feet were all red and swollen. He wished that he could have done something to make her feel better…but he couldn't. He wiggled his toes in his shoes. He wished that they could have traded shoes but their feet were different sizes and also trading shoes was kind of gross.

"Are crocs really that great?" asked Mob as Serizawa felt around in his shoes. She was kind of jealous…but she shouldn't have been. Her friend was happy. She had just been smoking the pen too much…or maybe not enough. She'd hit it again and then see how she felt.

"It's like walking on air…I mean I don't actually know what walking on air means because if I were to actually try I would probably end up hurting myself and then it would be bad but, um, some people can do that and if I could I think that this would be what it would feel like. I mean…I mean my feet don't hurt." Said Serizawa. Miss Suzuki smiled, which was nice, but then she laughed….which wasn't very nice…not that he was unhappy that she was happy! He just…wasn't used to girls laughing…and she was a girl…who could tell why girls were laughing at him….

"You're funny." Said Mob

"Do you…you mean that in a nice way? Because sometimes when girls laugh at you it isn't nice." Said Serizawa. He wished that he could have taken it back as soon as he was done. He held his umbrella close to his chest and nearly opened it. She stopped him. She grabbed his hand in his and held it. Tight.

She was a lot stronger than she looked.

"I could never be mean to you, you're my friend. I just meant that it was funny that you were saying so much at once. I was laughing with you, not at you, and you're right. I shouldn't have been laughing. I just found a new pen on my pillow this morning and…and I might be a little stoned…um…come on, let's get more coins." Said Mob. She took his hand, his free hand, in hers. She had seen him about to open his umbrella. Nothing good ever came from that. She shouldn't have been laughing. She should have been nicer…and she should have been smoking less. Minegishi had a point when they said that she smoked too much.

Nothing good ever came from smoking that much…she had messed up pretty badly from smoking too much…

"I-I don't know why I said that. I mean I know you and I know that you're not like that…um…here. Let's collect coins." Said Serizawa as she led him over to where Sho and Mukai were. Sho had Mukai up on his shoulders so she could reach. He wished that they put these closer to the ground. Even Miss Suzuki had to jump and she was a lot taller, now, than when they'd met…

She shouldn't have had to jump.

Her feet hurt. He was tall enough that he could reach on his own…and he was strong enough to pick her up. She was trying to jump now and it looked like it hurt her a lot…so he did what, at the moment, seemed like the right thing to do. Of course by the time she was off of her feet, a centimeter off of the ground, he realized that he should have asked.

But it was too late to put her down now…right?

"I-I'm sorry, I should have asked and-" said Serizawa

"Can you lift me up a little higher? I still can't reach." Said Mob. She was too big for this, both too tall and too old, but it was kind of nice. Just having someone think of her…she looked over at Minegishi. Someone who thought about her but also didn't yell at her or say that they weren't mad at her when it was clear that they were or…or boss her around…

She knew that Minegishi cared about her, and she cared about them, but right now…this was the kind of caring that she needed.

"Me next! Me next!" shouted Mukai as she tried to jump out of Sho's arms. She nearly hit the ground, she went down headfirst and it was kind of scary, but Sho caught her with his colors.

"Little Sis! I'm already holding you!" said Sho as he caught Mukai. At least he could do that right. He didn't know why she wanted Serizawa to pick her up….maybe because he was so much taller than Sho. Maybe she just wanted to be tall…or maybe she liked him better. That would have made sense too. That would have…she loved him. His sisters loved him. He didn't need to feel like this.

His sisters were not Dad…and he had to remember that.

"Mukai!" shouted Tsuchiya. Mukai's laughs did nothing to make her feel better. If anything it was worse…she didn't even know that she was in danger. How could she have? She was only three years old…

"She's alive." Said Minegishi rolling their eyes. They'd seen Mukai fall from the top of the refrigerator before. She was made of stronger stuff than that. It was Mob that they worried about…they were going crazy. Mob didn't have the best track record when it came to….but this was Serizawa….

But this was Mob, too.

"That's not the point." Said Tsuchiya as she got up. Sho was trying to put her back up on his shoulders. This was best left to Tsuchiya. This was best left to her mother. To an adult…this was something that she could do for her daughter, at least…

She felt President Suzuki's aura.

It was amazing how big his passive range was. She knew that he wasn't anywhere near them. He was off…she didn't know where he was or what he was doing but she knew that he wasn't here. He hated crowds and people. He never went to these places with his kids. He didn't ever spend time with his kids…none of them but Mukai…and one day when she got older and became difficult in the same way Sho and Shigeko were now. He only wanted the best parts, the easy parts, of parenting…he'd always only wanted the easy parts of parenting.

Someone had to be around to do the hard parts.

"Mama! Now it's your turn!" shouted Mukai as she kicked Sho

"Oh! Here, sorry." Said Serizawa as he stepped to the side. He put Miss Suzuki down. Tsuchiya gave him a look. He didn't know why. He looked away. Girls were kind of complicated like that…always doing things that he didn't understand…

Everyone but Miss Suzuki, he would always understand her.

"Thanks." Said Tsuchiya as she walked past him. She watched him…was she paranoid? Or maybe not paranoid enough…this whole thing had shaken her faith in people….or maybe she had just put her faith in the wrong person. She still couldn't believe that she had left her daughter with Shimazaki of all people…but it was over now and she was never leaving Mukai alone again.

"Mama, mama, give me your bracelet!" shouted Mukai as Mama picked her up. She tried to take it off of Mama. She hadn't gotten any coins at all. If she didn't know what to do then Mukai could just do it for her.

"No Mukai, you already have one." Said Tsuchiya

"I'll get her another one if she wants one." Said Mob. She wanted Mukai to be happy…even if she didn't really need another one…but it would have made her happy and that was what mattered.

"She doesn't need one." Said Tsuchiya

"It'll make her happy." Said Mob

"Yeah, it'll make her happy. Why don't you want her to be happy? That's weird." Said Sho. What was it with moms and telling you that you couldn't do stuff? His mom had been the same way when he'd been a kid. Mom had always told them that they could only have so much time in front of the TV or on their ipad, and she'd made them share too, and she hardly ever took them anywhere. Moms were so weird like that…but that was why Mukai had him and Big Sis. They never told her no unless she was going to hurt herself. That was why siblings were better than parents. Especially moms…but also especially dads.

Dads were dickholes, every single one of them.

"It make me happy, Mama, and that's weird!" said Mukai

"Well…if it makes you happy." Said Tsuchiya. She was seeing a pattern here. If something made Mukai happy then it was going to happen…like this trip. Minegishi had made comments before about them living their lives according to the whims of the kids. They weren't exaggerating. When Mukai, or one of the kids wanted something, it happened. No matter how President Suzuki felt he made it happen…

That was good to know….

"I can hold her up, too, I'm strong and I'm not tired." Said Sho as Tsuchiya took Mukai from him. What? Did she think that he was bad at this too? Did she think that…he needed more of the pen. He'd feel better eventually. He reached for Big Sis's bag…she pulled it away.

"I can hold her too! I'm not tired at all. I mean I am kind of tired but not too tired to carry anyone who needs to be carried…I mean since it's so much walking." Said Serizawa. Tsuchiya gave him another look. He wished that she would have just come out and told him what was wrong but that wasn't how girls worked, President Suzuki had said so. He had said that women were completely unknowable, like they were from a different planet or something…but not all girls were like that. Miss Suzuki was very knowable. She was one of the most knowable people he knew.

"I've got it." Said Tsuchiya

"Serizawa could probably hold you up, too, he's very strong…but I think that it's Minegishi who needs to be held up. They're the most tired out of all of us." Said Mob. She didn't know why they came with if they weren't up to it. When she'd asked they had just told her that from this point on anything that they did they were going to do together…which was maybe one of those things that they hadn't thought through all the way.

"They're fine! I mean I don't think that I could hold them up! I mean…I mean they want to sit down and…and we should just leave them alone. They get kind of…not happy…when they're bothered." Said Serizawa quickly

"He means that they're a bitch-bastard for no reason sometimes." Said Sho with a wave of his hand. What was everyone looking at him like that for? It was the truth.

"Bitch-bastard! Bitch bastard!" shouted Mukai. She didn't know what it meant but people were looking at her now. She waved to them, well she would have if Mama hadn't grabbed her hand.

"Oh! Maybe-maybe you shouldn't…not that I can tell you what to say! Just…maybe you shouldn't have said that." Said Serizawa

"Sho! Be careful what you say around Mukai." Said Mob as people started to look at them. Mukai was still cursing…did she even know what those words meant? Well Mob wasn't going to explain them to her. Cursing wasn't ok, especially when you were that young.

"Nobody draw attention to it. If you ignore it then she'll stop." Said Tsuchiya

"I didn't say anything that bad…you sound like Fukuda…or Dad." Said Sho

"I don't sound like Fukuda and Dad…maybe he has..." said Mob. She couldn't finish it. Maybe Dad had a point. She wasn't so clueless that she didn't understand how much that would have hurt Sho. He didn't like Dad and Dad didn't like him. He didn't want to hear about how maybe Dad had a point and that cursing too much around Mukai made her curse and that cursing really was a nasty way of talking. She wasn't going to be saying that to him…

But she didn't know what to say.

"Maybe Dad has a what?" asked Sho, trying not to sound like a dickhole. If she said that maybe Dad had a point he was walking home. He didn't care how far away Tokyo was. It was either walk home or fight with her and he was done fighting with her. He was too old to fight with her, he wasn't that person anymore, or at least he tried not to be.

"Nothing, your father has nothing." Said Tsuchiya quickly. It was like trying to defuse a bomb but worse. At least with a bomb they told you what wire to cut.

"Please don't fight…I'm so tired of fighting…" said Serizawa softly. He was kind of glad he didn't have any brothers or sisters. Sure it had been lonely growing up, before he'd locked himself away in his room, but at least he hadn't had anyone to fight with. It was amazing how fast Miss Suzuki and her brother could go from being best friends to what seemed nearly like the worst of enemies…how sad she looked when her brother fought with her.

He held her hand. It was about time he returned the favor.

"He…he um…" said Mob. She couldn't think of any way to finish that…she was trapped. It felt like the time she and Serizawa had been playing the original Mario 64 and she fell through the world. She hated when that happened, there was no way to get out. She and Sho were going to fight…she wished that she wasn't so clueless, that she could have thought of something to say…or that she could have thought of a way to get more time to think…

Oh!

Her phone vibrated in her bag. She didn't care if it was just another boring alert like something got updated or the kittens she followed on YouTube had posted another video. Even a ow battery alert would have been better than this. She took her phone out of her bag and…oh…that was…that was worse….a lot worse….

"Well? What about Dad?" asked Sho. He was not going to get mad. Even though even after all that had happened Big Sis was still on Dad's side…he didn't get it. He needed more people on his side. He needed…he needed his sister. She was the strongest person around and if she had been on his side then…then they could have won and every single day would have been like this…

But she was never and had never been on his side….and that was just the way that things were.

"Shigeko? Are you alright? Bad news?" asked Tsuchiya. Knowing Claw it could have been anything. She loved Shigeko but she could admit she wasn't a Shigeko whispered. She tried to make eye contact with Minegishi through the crowd but their nose was buried in their book.

"Miss Suzuki? Is everything…alright?" asked Serizawa.

"He wants…he wants to talk to me…he knows that I'm here…but not now! Not…not now. Now we…now we have to get Mukai another bracelet and we have coins to collect and…and I have to go see if Minegishi is ok or…or if they have heatstroke or something…um…bye!" said Mob as she hurried off. She didn't want to…to fight or to answer any questions. She just wanted to have a nice day…but that was too much to ask, it kind of felt like…

"Miss Suzuki…." Said Serizawa as she rushed over to where Minegishi was sitting. She practically threw herself into their arms…they even dropped their book catching her. He should have been there with her…for her. For! Always for…even though it was hard being on his own and…and…and he needed to go to her, even if she had walked away from him…

So that was what he did.

It was hard to be alone. It hurt, in a lot of ways, to be alone…to be without her. When she was with him he at least knew that he was safe. The world felt smaller, his head hurt less, and his heart too. He didn't have to worry, his heart didn't pound, and his mind didn't spin in circles with everything that could go wrong. He could just…be there, with her. He could just be happy when he was with her…so that was what he did, he went to her. Even though she ran away from him he went to her…but not just for himself!

Her feet hurt. Maybe she needed him to carry her or…or whatever else she could have asked her to do. He would have done anything for her, anything at all.