Mob had never been in a war room before.
It was less…mean…than she had imagined. She should have listened to Sho. He had been in these rooms before. He said that they looked just like normal meeting rooms only there were guns and stuff under the chairs and traps. He had been right. She should have listened to him…and gone with him. He hadn't wanted to come, he didn't like to be near Dad if he could avoid it.
She didn't blame him.
Dad had been mean to him for his entire life, of course he hadn't wanted to come with….but it would have been nice to have had him there. They had been having so much fun. Now it was just her and Minegishi…and Tsuchiya and Mukai. But only Minegishi had gone into the room with her.
It was nice.
"You don't have to come in with me." Said Mob as she stood in the doorway. She held the strap of her Elsa bag in both hands. Dad was there. He was looking at his phone…good. She didn't want him to look at her. She didn't want him to talk to her. She knew what he felt like talking to her about. He wanted to talk to her about the same thing that everyone, everyone but Serizawa had wanted to talk to her about. The thing that Minegishi was so mad at her about.
The thing that was nobody's business but her own…and also Shimazaki's…but mostly just her own.
"Whatever we do we do together." Said Minegishi with a sigh. Their feet were killing them. They needed to sit down. They didn't care if it was at the same table as Suzuki…the other side of the table. The conference table. So this was how he finally addressed all of this with his daughter.
Like she was an enemy.
Minegishi hadn't been to a lot of these meetings. They didn't know if it was because their powers weren't as versatile as others or if it was just Suzuki being sexist as usual. Whatever. It wasn't that special. According to Ryou there were guns under all the seats on Suzuki's side, poison gas dispensers, and probably grenades hidden in the walls. They didn't even want to know what Suzuki planned on doing in these rooms…in this room…
They didn't care what he did so long as he didn't do anything to hurt Mob. She'd been through enough.
"Um…ok, I guess." said Mob softly. She would have liked it better, maybe, if they had said this a long time ago. Back when she had been little and they had never fought about anything. Back before she had done…all the things that she had done. Back before…really far back. It would have been nice to have had her best friend with her all the time…to have had her best friend with her through whatever this was going to be…their hand on her back would have been nice….
It wouldn't have felt like they were about to push her.
"Come on, let's get this over with." Said Minegishi as they pressed their hand to Mob's back.
"Ok…ok." Said Mob. She took a step, and then another, and then another. She had walk now. Minegishi was pushing her. It didn't seem like they were going to push her down…not in front of Dad, at least. She hoped so, anyway. It would have been ok if they had pushed her. She had hurt them. She had hurt them so badly that it was amazing that they even still wanted to be here with her…that they still wanted to be her friend.
But they did and that was what mattered.
Mob kept walking, Minegishi's hand on her back the whole time. With one step it felt like they were trying to tell her that they were there for her. With every other step it felt like they were going to push her down. They had never done that before…but Dad had. Dad had pushed her down so many times and maybe her mind was just getting things all mixed up. She felt all mixed up. She felt…she felt…
She felt like sitting down.
She sat down carefully in case there really was a gun under the seat. She couldn't feel it…but she didn't want to check. She just wanted to sit down. She just…she needed to sit down. She felt shaky. She felt like the time she and Sho had ridden the teacups six times in a role, with Sho spinning them the whole time. She wanted to sit down….to lie down….to go to bed or…or something. Somewhere.
Somewhere far away from here.
He was still on his phone. She watched his aura. It was still. His thumb was still, too, he wasn't even scrolling. His eyes weren't moving. Maybe he was watching a movie with the sound off or…or something. Well he could have done that on his own. He didn't have to call her all the way here. He didn't have to make her worry…that was what this was. She was worried. She didn't know what she was supposed to say to him.
It would have helped if she had known what it was that he wanted to talk about.
She had a good idea…but then again she was really clueless when it came to pretty much everything. For all she knew he wanted to…to yell at her again about the time she had come to Osaka to save him from his girlfriend. That wouldn't have been so bad. She could have lived with that, and him hitting her again too, she could have lived with a lot of things just so long as he didn't try and talk to her about…about what had happened.
Anything but that.
"Dad?" asked Mob once the waiting got to be too much. She didn't know what he wanted from her but…but whatever it was he needed to get on with it. They had been here for so long that Minegishi had gotten their book out. They were sitting in the chair next to her with their leg crossed, a book in their hands, and a bookmark between their teeth. She didn't know how long it had been….minutes? Seconds? Hours? Years?
Ok, maybe not that long…but still!
Dad was taking his time. He clicked his phone off, she heard it, and then he put it down on the table…but he still wouldn't look at her. He looked down at the table, now. He just stared at it like it was the most interesting thing in the world…he could have done that on his own. He could have done that without taking her away from her friends…away from her brother and sister…well Mukai was still here. She and Tsuchiya were playing in the hallway. Tsuchiya had said that this wasn't the place for Mukai. Mob agreed. It wasn't the place for Mukai or Sho or even her.
She needed to get out of here.
"Hey, Dad?" asked Mob. Maybe it would have been better if he called her again once he figured out what he wanted to tell her…and if he never figured it out then they could just spend the rest of their lives at Universal. It was…an ok theme park. It was on Disney World but then again not much was. It made Sho happy, and Mukai, and also Serizawa which was rare because he hated leaving his room. It had been such a fun day and…and maybe there was still time to get back to it…or she could have gone with Sho to wherever he had gone to.
He had said that he was going to go find a good place to draw. She wasn't much of an artist but she'd do her best.
"Dad…can you hear me?" asked Mob. Maybe Dad had gone deaf and that was what he had been trying to tell her. Maybe he had done so much yelling in his life that now he couldn't hear anything anymore…or maybe he'd poked his eardrums out or…or something. That would have been awful but they would have dealt with it. They would just have all had to learn sign language and every single show they watched would have had to have subtitles. She could deal with that…that would have been easy to deal with….
Not that she was excited about her Dad going deaf or anything…but it wouldn't have been so bad.
"For the love of God…President Suzuki! Hey! Your daughter's talking to you!" shouted Minegishi. Well that seemed to break Touichirou out of whatever spiral he'd been going down. He practically jumped, there, with the rest of the room…maybe not the best room to have lost control in if Ryou's tales of guns and explosives hadn't been heavily embellished. Not that they were going to ask him. They weren't going to be saying another word to him. They didn't really want to say another word to anyone. Not until…well there was no hope of this passing anytime soon…
But it would have passed a lot faster if President Suzuki wasn't about to start discussing what they figured he had called Mob down here to discuss.
"…I am aware that I am being addressed." Said Suzuki once he found his voice. It had been harder than he'd thought, speaking, remembering the complex set of cues his body had to follow to turn thoughts into words. Or maybe his thoughts had just been too much, too chaotic, firing too rapidly. This should have been easy.
It was like any other promotion.
Shiori had been right. The time had come to either treat Shigeko like a child or another adult. Adult won out in the end. She had made it abundantly clear that she was not a child anymore. She had…it was more real, now, that he was looking at her. Now that he could see her…how much taller she'd gotten. Yes, that was an acceptable marker of physical maturity one could notice in their daughter. She was taller now and…and that was it. He wasn't going to think about the fact that she needed to purchase a new shirt. He wasn't going to remark on the fact that it was obviously she hadn't washed her face in a while. He was even going to ignore the cosmetics she had smeared across her face. She was taller…he could deal with taller…
He could deal with this. He had no choice.
This was just another meeting. He was promoting her to the upper echelons. He wouldn't be fighting her, of course, she had already proven herself to him…yes. She had. Long ago she had proven herself very capable. He hadn't gotten, directly to his inbox too, the level of complaints in her time as interim President that he'd gotten about Hatori. There was the usual whining from Tadashi, at some point he had forgotten how to get along with just about everyone, but there were also complaints from legitimate sources too. Tamaki from the First Division…how Hatori could have messed that up he would never know…
Shigeko was more capable than most people. He had known that for a while now. This was a good idea.
…now he just had to get on with it. Now he just had to…he had to order his thoughts. His first idea had been to confront her, to ask her exactly what she thought she had been doing. To ask her when it had looked like a good idea to have se-to explore physicality with Shimazaki Ryou of all people. She may not have been anywhere near his bloodline but…but still! How could she have let herself risk getting pregnant with that mans-
He did his best to exorcise his emotions. That was not what they had come here to discuss.
"Oh! You can still hear! That's good, I was worried…well not that worried. If you can't hear then we're just going to have to learn sign language but I think that I can do that. Minegishi could learn and then teach me, they know a bunch of languages." Said Mob. She turned to look at Minegishi. They looked back at her.
'No way.' Signed Minegishi. They kind of knew sign language. They weren't about to brush up on it for the likes of Suzuki Touichirou. It was taking all the effort they could muster not to pull the seeds from their pockets, shove them down his throat, and then see if a watermelon really could grow in someone's stomach. The more they looked at him the less they understood. This was a man who was poised to conquer the world, or so he said, and he couldn't even raise one kid? Not even his other two, obviously that was too much for him, but Mob…she had been his favorite once…
And now it looked like he was about to fire her or something.
"I didn't know you knew sign language, Minegishi, that's kind of cool." Said Mob
'Thanks.' Signed Minegishi
"What does that mean?" asked Mob
"It means settle whatever this is with your Dad so we can get on with our day. I need to soak my feet and sleep for the next twelve to fifteen hours so, yeah, you two get on with it." Said Minegishi
"I had no idea sign language was such an efficient language. I had always assumed that it was a one to one correspondence when it came to speaking…this is very interesting." Said Suzuki. With a language so efficient the potential was limitless…limitlessly limited. You had to be in visual contact with the person signing…that had it's drawbacks…he would put a pin in this. There was certainly something that could be done with this, he just didn't know what yet. Shigeko could figure it out, or she could put Minegishi to figuring it out. They were a very capable person. Shigeko had chosen her friends well…
Mostly.
With one glaring exception she had done well to pick out the most powerful and useful espers in all of Claw for her inner circle. He had entertained the thought before, surrounding himself with powerful espers, but that had always been a last resort measure. There were still times when he could barely stand Tadashi's company and they had spent most of their lives together. Shigeko had done very well for herself so far, mostly, and this…this was the right move.
Shiori had said so and that should have been enough for him.
"It really is. Maybe we should teach the Awakened how to sign, at least that way they'll shout less." Said Mob. This was…she could do this. This was ok.
"And your brother as well. I've been tired of the constant shouting and cursing for years now." Said Suzuki
"Sho only does that to you because you fight with him…you fight with everyone." Said Mob. Minegishi put their hand back on her back. She let them. She knew that they weren't going to push her out of her chair no matter how mad they were at her.
Not with Dad sitting right there, anyway.
"That's not true. I only fight when it's necessary….and in this case it is not. I don't want to fight with you. Not now and not ever." Said Suzuki
"Ok. I don't want to fight with you either. Does this mean that we're not talking about…about stuff?" asked Mob
"I called you here to speak to you about a specific topic, yes." Said Suzuki
"About…about what I think that you want to talk about?" asked Mob
"What do you think that I want to talk to you about?" asked Suzuki
"Stuff…and things…" said Mob
"I do have things I wish to discuss with you, but you're going to have to be less vague. Be more specific, Shigeko." Said Suzuki
"Um….ok…stuff and things about me, I guess." said Mob
"Yes, I do have 'stuff' and 'things' I wish to discuss with you. However-" said Suzuki
"She wants to know if you're going to address the elephant in the room." Said Minegishi. They couldn't take another word of this. If they didn't shove these two to the point then they were going to go on and on in circles until Suzuki died of old age…and then Mob would probably wind up going around in circles with his ghost.
"The what in the room?" asked Mob. She had heard that expression before but she didn't get it. If there was an elephant in the room then why would you address it? It wasn't like it could talk back. Wouldn't it have made more sense to get it out of the room than to try and have a conversation with it?
"I….do not follow." Said Suzuki. He had heard that expressing numerous times before in his life but he had never asked about it. It was one of those things that people just knew, one of those things he would have looked like a moron for asking about. It made no sense, though, no matter how he looked at it. If there truly had been an elephant in the room then removing it would have made more sense than addressing it. It was not a parrot, it could not speak back no matter how many times it was addressed.
"You're two of a kind….whatever. Mob wants to know if you called her in here to punish her for sleeping with Ryou….with Shimazaki. I'd advise against it since she's only thirteen but, yeah, I know. When you want my advice, you'll ask for it, how dare I address you like this, how dare I dare to dare to command you, and…well I can't think of any more right now." Said Minegishi
"Minegishi!" said Mob. No! They just…maybe Dad hadn't wanted to talk about it. Maybe he had figured that who Mob had sex with, while a mistake, was none of his business or anyone else's. it was personal. It was private. It was not the kind of thing that she wanted to talk to her DAD about! Not him or-or anyone! Why did everyone have to-to try and talk to her about this!
She didn't ask other people about what they did when they did all the things…but then again she was the only one who had done all the things with her best friend's boyfriend.
"Yes! Yes to all of that!" said Suzuki. How dare they speak to him like that. How dare they dare to attempt to command him like that. How dare they…if he had wanted their advice then he would have asked for it! Minegishi was not his…well they were highly ranked but…but they were Shigeko's second or advisor or…or Tadashi! They were her Tadashi and they could speak to her like that but not him! He wanted to reach across that table and knock some sense into them-
-but Shigeko was sitting right there.
He exorcised his emotions. He did his best to, anyway. As he had stated before he did not wish to fight with her. This was…this was not the best day of his life…but no the worst, either. His daughter had disappointed him but…but it wasn't as though she'd done anything terrible like…like betray him. She had simply done what biology had programmed her to do. She had simply…she had simply done what any woman in her position would have done.
That was what she was now, a woman, and…and she had acted as a woman did…and now he was going to treat her as the woman, the capable woman, she had become.
"Dad! Be nice!" said Mob. She knew what it meant when he shouted like that…when his aura looked like that. She didn't know what was wrong with him that he had to fight with people all the time but…but he was not going to fight Minegishi. She would fight him before she let him hurt anyone else she loved. She may not have been strong enough to fight him when he'd been hitting Sho all the time, or brave enough, but she could stop him now!
She didn't want it to come to that, to her fighting her own Dad, but if it did then…then she would do what she had to do for the people she loved.
"I apologize for my outburst. I am calm now." Said Suzuki. He really was. He was perfectly calm and ready to discuss the business of Claw's power structure. Really.
"For real?" asked Mob, watching his aura. She knew Dad. He didn't look calm. He looked like he was trying to be calm. That wasn't the same at all. She put a barrier up around Minegishi and watched Dad. He was a lot stronger than them…and maybe her…but she wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her best friend. She'd done enough already.
"Yes. I am telling the truth. I am calm now and I am ready to discuss certain…developments….that have occurred in your life in a calm and rational manner." Said Suzuki. She watched him for a moment. He didn't know what she expected to see. He could see his own aura, he knew that he was calm, and really a barrier was a bit much right now. What did she think that he was going to do?
"Do we have to?" asked Mob after a moment. She dropped her barrier. Minegishi pulled their book back out. If they were ok then she was ok…mostly. She kind of wished that she and Dad had been fighting. It would have been better than talking about…about all of this. Than talking about things that weren't even any of Dad's business to begin with.
"Yes. Yes we do." Said Suzuki. Did she think that he wanted to discuss what needed discussing? He didn't…and maybe he could get away with not addressing certain events. He was not her mother. She was maybe even beyond the age when she needed a mother…a comforting thought. Maybe one he could make real if he tried hard enough. He looked at her and he didn't know what he saw, a child or a small woman…he really didn't know.
"But I don't want to talk about this and….and I don't see why you want to, either. It's my business Dad, not yours. It's personal and…and I'm getting sick of people thinking about this stuff and talking about it and…and isn't there anything else you want to talk about?" asked Mob
"Yes, but first we have to discuss….you're right. You're a grown woman now and what you do is none of my business." Said Suzuki
"She's thirteen." Said Minegishi, nearly dropping their book. Was that how he saw her? They had been asking themselves this for years but…what was WRONG with him? Mob was just a kid…men. They had never once been able to understand men. Hitting puberty did not mean that you were a grown woman! They'd heard that before. Oh, you're all grown up now…never from their own father, thankfully….
"I know what age my daughter is. Shigeko, you have made it abundantly clear to me that you are no longer a child. You have been making it clear for some time now. I have been…I have been clinging, irrationally, to this idea of you as you were…as a child. I had been clinging to this idea as if I could turn back time and make you into the person you used to be. It cannot be done." Said Suzuki
"Because you hate the person that I've become." Said Mob softly. She caught Minegishi's book for them. They had dropped it…she didn't think that a bad person would have done that, caught their friend's book. She didn't think that she was a bad person…mostly. She had done so many bad things and…and maybe Dad was right to hate the person that she had become. She knew that she wasn't too happy with herself.
"I…hate parts of…I severally dislike many aspects of the person you've become, yes, such as your choice of…physical partners. I mean did you even stop and think for one moment that-that you could have gotten pregnant with that man's child? And not to mention the sheer amount of venereal disease you could have contracted from him and-and any other men you've been with! Did you even stop and think-" said Suzuki. He was calm…he had been. She was the one who'd brought it up. He had been content to skip past this and get to the easy part but she was the one who…didn't she ever think?! Wasn't she capable of thinking about someone other than herself? He was constantly taking other people into account. Their idiosyncrasies, their annoyances, the way they held him back in various ways…but no. Somehow he had raised her to be so selfish…he needed to calm down. He needed to calm down because she was becoming, decidedly, un-calm. Angry. Upset. He could see her aura. The last thing he needed was a repeat of the Seventh Division…or the Eighth…or even the outburst that had led him to acquiring her in the first place…
He had to calm down…he had to do his best.
"Why are YOU thinking about this so much, Dad?! I'm not having a baby. I want to have one but not with him, ok?! I know how not to have a baby and…and I did…I'm not telling you what I did or why I did it because it's personal and…and it feels gross to talk about that kind of stuff with my Dad! You're my Dad and you're a boy and-and-and you can't know about this!" said Mob. She did her best not to lose control. There was a crack in the wall behind her now…she had to stay calm…but how could she stay calm when her own DAD was trying to talk to her about THIS?! It would have been bad, too, if Mom had tried to talk to her about this but Mom was at least a girl! Dad was a boy and she wasn't ever going to talk to a boy about…and he was her Dad too and…and really nobody should have been talking about this! She didn't go around talking about the things other people did in private. Didn't he have anything else he wanted to think about, to discuss? To…to…he was always saying how much he had to do, so why didn't he just do it already and leave her alone?
Why did he and everyone else have to be like this?
"I, also, don't want details. Thank you." Said Minegishi. They put their hand on Mob's back. They were there for her. They wished that they hadn't had to be. Time for more of Suzuki's half assed parenting it seemed…or not. He blanched, he actually blanched there…they hadn't thought that he could have gotten any more pale but he had. Huh. They could see where Sho got his freckles from. Truly fascinating, truly.
"I...apologize again. You are very capable and…and of course I don't want details. That would be…not…I have no idea what I would have done with that information. Please, Shigeko, do not explain." Said Suzuki. He felt faint. He felt cold. He felt like walking right out of that room. Details…he wondered if it was possible to throw up on an empty stomach. He did not want or need details.
"Don't ask me to." Said Mob quickly.
"I'm not. I was…I was concerned…but you're right. As your opposite sex parent it is not my place to discuss this with you. Your mother…had she been around…would have explained everything to you that needed explaining. She is not here and I…I cannot be both father and mother at once. It isn't possible." Said Suzuki
"Relax, I covered all of that already." Said Minegishi. Father and mother at once? What was he on about? He hadn't been either parent to her for as long as Minegishi had been around, anyway. Minegishi had been more of a parent to Mob than Suzuki ever had…and they'd someone still done a better job of it than he had.
"You…what? Minegishi, explain." Said Suzuki. They had…they had done what? They had told Shigeko…what had they covered? He…he should have been happy. He should have been happy that someone else had taken over when he was not suited for the job. He should have been happy that someone had told Shigeko all that she needed to know…but what had they thought that she needed to know? What had they…
It had been their partner after all who Shigeko had…..
"I took Mob to a clinic and I gave her the talk. It's done." Said Minegishi. He was upset, they could tell…why? What, did he think that they would have left Mob to figure it out by herself? He should have been thanking them instead of looking at them like he was ready to kill them. He could have been a grandfather right now if not for them.
"Did you also know that my daughter was in a relationship with-" said Suzuki. The table cracked underneath his hands. Had they known? He didn't know…had they let…had they let this happen? They were the one who was supposed to take care of her. They had professed to caring about her and…and they had let this happen to her. Suzuki didn't have that kind of relationship with her, being her father, her opposite sex parent…and being as busy as he was. He was only her father and there was only so much that he could do.
"Dad! Stop it!" said Mob. He pulled his aura back…he needed to keep it back. She didn't want to fight him but…but if she had to then…then she wouldn't have had a choice.
"No, obviously I had no idea. Apparently everyone assumed that I had been informed. Obviously if I knew then Ryou…then Shimazaki would have been plant food by now." Said Minegishi
"Dad, can we PLEASE talk about something else? Anything else? How's…how's kendo this season? What about-" said Mob, trying to find something else to talk to him about. Anything else. Something to just…something better than or…or worse than or….or just…something else!
"We can discus this year's abysmal kendo season later. Right now I wish to discuss an important matter with you, one unrelated to your…intimate life." Said Suzuki. He shuddered. She shouldn't have had…it had happened, it was over, or still occurring…it was none of his business. As she had said before this was none of his business. He had expressed as much to her as well. She…she had no right to pry into his affairs and he…he was her father but…but he had no right to pry into hers either.
"…do I want to know what?" asked Mob softly. She knew Dad. He was weird. He probably wanted to talk about everything and…and even if it had nothing to do with whatever an intimate life was…she got the feeling he meant sex…it was probably something else that she didn't want to talk about.
"I'm promoting you." Said Suzuki quickly. Simply. Easily. There. He had said it and now…now it was going to happen. She was going to be promoted and…and she was going to do well and…and that was it. It was done.
"To what? I'm already Vice President." Said Mob
"Head of Tokyo HQ, effective as of today." Said Suzuki
"…you're doing what now?" asked Minegishi. They nearly dropped their book. Mob caught it for them…how she could have been so focused right now they would never know. Head of…Mob couldn't be head of anything. She was just a kid and….and she had filled in for him before but it wasn't like those times had been unmitigated successes. She was thirteen. Did she even know how to run a Division let alone the HQ? Did she even….this was going to be more work for them. A lot more work…so much more work….
"So…so you're going on another secret mission and you want me to be in charge until you get back?" asked Mob. This was…not something that they had to have an entire meeting about. He did this sometimes. She agreed, Hatori shouldn't have been in charge. He was still kind of fragile and it was a lot for him. She'd gotten the same emails Dad had. Hatori…he really shouldn't have been in charge…even if that was kind of a mean thought to have about him.
"No, this position is not temporary. This is a permanent position. Effective as of this moment." Said Suzuki. There. It was done and now he could get on with his day. He had to relieve Hatori of duty, fix what he broke, work on the transfer of some of his power to Shigeko, and at some point…well probably before he left he was going to have to say goodbye to Shiori. He was going to have to…he wanted to see her. To find her. He needed….he needed to be near her.
"But…but then what are you going to do? And be? And…and what's…what's going to happen…I need to know what's going to happen." Said Mob. The room was kind of small, now, and there wasn't a lot of air and…and she needed air. She just…she couldn't be in charge like that. If she was in charge then what would Dad do? He was head of Tokyo. He was head of everything. He was the President and…and if she was head to Tokyo then he had no reason to be there…and she would be stuck there and…and…
And he would be gone.
She knew where he had to go next…where he should have gone next. There were always places he had to go…places that they had to go. Places that they had to leave to, to do Claw stuff, to…to make things better. She had to go with him. Without her then who would make him dinner? Who would iron his shirts? Who would take care of him and Sho? What…would she have done if she didn't have her family to take care of? What would she have done without Dad? Without Sho? Without….she leaned back against Minegishi's hand. She kind of wanted them to push her. At least then she would have had something else to think about besides….besides whatever this was….
"That makes two of us." Said Minegishi, rubbing Mob's back. What did he think about going to happen now? He just got to abandon his daughter? What was it with Suzuki's and abandoning their kids? They had always wondered about Missus Suzuki, about why she'd left, about why she'd married Suzuki in the first place…well now they could at least see what they'd had in common.
"You and your…companions…are going to have full run of Tokyo HQ…everyone but Hatori, he will be coming with me. I have some final assets to collect and distribute. You will also have Sho and Tadashi…and Fukuda as well." Said Suzuki. Yes, he would not be taking Tadashi with him. He…he had been without Tadashi before. It would not be a good idea for them to be together. Not with the way he felt, the way he knew Tadashi felt, and the way he knew he felt about Shiori. He wasn't going to lose her and he couldn't afford to lose sight of his goals. He couldn't bring Shigeko with him for the same reason. She distracted him. He had no idea how he could have gotten anything done while he was near her…while he had the all encompassing urge to take her and hide her somewhere. To keep her safe from herself, from her own mistakes…
From his mistakes…ones that he knew he must have made…ones that he could not identify right now.
"So…so me and Sho and Mukai and all of our friends get to live in Tokyo? Without you?" asked Mob. This was…this was ok. She loved Dad but Dad didn't love Sho and she had to put Sho first. Sho and Mukai. Sure Dad loved Mukai now but one day she would get older and he would stop loving her and it was the worst feeling ever. Maybe it was better that…that they weren't together. Maybe it was better that he went…that he went away…even though…
Even though she had no parents at all now.
Mom had left and now Dad was leaving and…and did this make her an orphan now? Was she an orphan or did her parents have to be dead for her an orphan? Mom was…she must have been alive. She thought that she would have known, just known, if her mom had died. She knew actual orphans. Minegishi, Shimazaki, Hatori, and even her own Dad…she didn't get to call herself an orphan even though she kind of…she kind of felt like one….
She was going to be all alone now….she and Sho and Mukai…so it wasn't going to be so bad maybe.
"I will be taking Mukai." Said Suzuki simply. He had one daughter left, one that he could still keep near, and he knew to enjoy his time with. Children grew up so fast…they changed so quickly…they became nearly unrecognizable….he had lost so much time with Mukai already, given it away…he couldn't lose any more. She was going to…to turn into another Shigeko someday. He didn't know what he would do on that day but he did know that he was going to enjoy the time that he had with her now.
Shigeko could have her back when she was a teenager. When she drank and slept around and smoked and…and other such things.
"What?!" asked Mob. That time she did lose control a little. The lights flickered, one of them fell from the ceiling. The table nearly flipped over. Part of the wall shattered. She didn't know…she didn't know what she would do now. She didn't think that or know what or…or…or…
This was not going to happen again. She wouldn't let it.
"Yeah, I agree. What?" asked Minegishi, rubbing Mob's back. Their book was abandoned. They didn't care. Suzuki…he was lucky they hadn't thrown it at him. He was doing this again? He was…they hadn't been able to beat him the first time they'd fought all those years ago and despite the fact that he was older and slower they still didn't have a chance against him….
And it would have hurt to try.
"Mukai is my daughter and she will be travelling with me…and her mother, as well, if she wishes to join us…though she did express interest in taking up her old position at the Seventh Division." Said Suzuki. Just him and Mukai…he had never cared for a child before but…but Hatori could figure it out. He had to be good at something, right? He couldn't run Claw, not even for two days, but he could at least care for a three year old…
"You…you're trying to take Mukai from me again?" asked Mob. She had been right…he was doing it again. Why did he have to…why did….what was…what had she done to deserve this?!
"It's going to be ok." Said Minegishi, taking Mob's hand in theirs. They glared at Suzuki. Now? He was doing this now? He had the nerve to pile this onto Mob NOW?! They clutched Mob's hand in theirs, their other hand deep into their pockets. They had always been curious to see if a watermelon actually could grow in someone's stomach…and it wasn't as though it would be any great loss to the world if Suzuki were to die. Mob could always take over for him, it wasn't like she could have possibly done any worse. She was, somehow, at thirteen smarter and more competent than her own father…even with the mistakes she'd made…
Minegishi wished, and not for the first time in their life, that they were stronger.
"I am not taking her from you, I am merely going to….to take her with me as I travel and then probably for some time afterwards. She needs-" said Suzuki
"She needs me! She needs her brother and sister and…and you don't now how to take care of her or…or us! I'm the one who took care of us and-" said Mob. Minegishi squeezed her hand and shook their head. She stopped. She stopped before she messed up…before she said something she couldn't take back…before she and Dad fought…this wasn't going to be a fight.
She wasn't going to leave Mukai.
"Maybe just let Mukai choose who she wants to go with." Said Minegishi. There was no way they were going through this again with Mob. There was no way…how could that man….how could anyone….
"That…would work…she does have a will of her own but…but later. Not now. Now I am much too busy…much too busy." Said Suzuki. He had no idea who Mukai would pick and…and he couldn't argue with that. She was old enough to make choices on her own and if he did take her with him against her wishes then she could resent him and then….and then he really would lose her…
He couldn't lose another daughter.
"How about now? She's right in the hallway with Tsuchiya." Said Mob. She knew that Mukai would pick her. She knew that Mukai loved her and Sho the most. They were the ones who'd taken then most care of her. They were the ones who had been there from her since the day they'd met her. When she'd been a baby….when Dad had shoved her into Mob's arms and run away…
That had to have been worth something right?
"I…have no reason to protest…" said Suzuki. That was it. That was all that Shigeko needed to get up and get her sister. That was all…this was happening now. He had just assumed that this would be the day they went their, temporary, separate ways. The day she became an adult and he…and he finished what he'd started. Started to finish what he started. The day…he was…he was…'
He was not going to lose Mukai. He was not going to lose another daughter.
She led Mukai in by the hand. She had chocolate and powdered sugar all over her face. Her entire arm was covered from top to bottom in…bracelets of some kind? She looked like she'd had a good day. The children always gave her good days…he didn't know if he could. He hadn't been able to be both mother and father to Sho and Shigeko, he had barely had time to do the father part…and Mukai needed so much more of his time…
But she was also a lot simpler.
"Mukai, I have to ask you something. I have to…I have to ask if you want to come with me back to Tokyo or go with Dad and…and you can take as much time as you need-" said Mob. She loved Mukai and…and she would do whatever Mukai wanted….but she knew that Mukai would pick her. She knew that Mukai would pick her brother and sister because…because Dad was…he wasn't a really nice Dad…and she was smart enough to know that one day she would be as old as Mob was now and then Dad would treat her just the same way Dad treated her and…and…
And she would have thought that Mukai needed more time.
"Go with Mama!" shouted Mukai before she held out her hands. She said the thing, where was her cookie?
"Yeah, I don't know what we expected here." Said Minegishi rolling their eyes. Yeah, Mukai was three. She probably didn't even know what was going on.
"I…I know you want to go wherever your mom wants to go but you need to pick between me and Dad right now." Said Mob. She tried to hold Mukai's hand. She slapped it away.
"Go back to Seven Division! Seven! With Mama!" said Mukai. Mama was in the doorway. She held her hands out. Where was her cookie!?
"Is that…is that what you truly want, Daughter?" asked Suzuki. He…he had no idea what he expected. Of course she could have wanted to stay with her mother. She couldn't be separated from her mother at this age. She couldn't have…well he would have been fully within his power to force Tsuchiya to come with him…
He didn't want to.
She was in the doorway. He didn't…he neither liked nor disliked her. He simply did not want to have a woman in his life who was not named Shiori. She was…not attractive…but not unattractive…but that shouldn't have mattered since he had Shiori. He just…the only company he wanted right now was his own, Hatori's, and Mukai's….
It looked like it was going to just be him and Hatori and…and he could deal with that…it seemed that he had no choice….
"Yes! Go Seven with Mama! Now give me a cookie!" said Mukai as she held her hands out to Mama. Mama looked scared….good! She should have been. She had promised Mukai a cookie and if she had been lying then…then Mukai was going to kick her! And bite her! And take all of her Mario Land coins! No one up for Mama!
"But…but I have plenty of cookies…" said Mob. She didn't, actually. She have any with her right now but she could have gone and gotten cookies…all kinds of cookies. All the best kinds like chocolate chip and sugar and-and the kind with the marshmallows in them and…and anything else that she could have wanted….
"Go with your mother. She'll give you what you need." Said Suzuki with a wave of his hand. She had made her choice and…and he couldn't hold it against her. She was female and of course she could have been closer to her same sex parent…a girl needed her mother…and he could not be both mother and father. It was obvious from what had become of Shigeko…
Shigeko was very capable.
He loved…he loved some parts of the person that she had become. She had cared for him, their household, for years now. She was capable of running Claw…part of it. She was capable of…of so much. She just made terrible choices when it came to certain things…like men…but that had no bearing on her ability to…to work. She was capable, more capable than his own flesh and blood son….and he was proud of her for that…he had done the best he could.
If Masami had been around she could have been….
He didn't know. Masami had been…she had not been much of a wife or a mother. She had left after all. Even if they had been happy for a time that didn't change the fact that she'd spent most of the time that they'd had together in bed or…or just distant from her children and…and him. She…he had no idea what sort of mother she would have been to Shigeko. He had no idea what…what she would have done in his place. He had no idea…he had no clue…
He just…he had done his best and…and he was somewhat proud of what he'd done.
"I-I'll go and get her a cookie…come on, Mukai." Said Tsuchiya as she picked Mukai up. Minegishi gave her a knowing look. She looked away and shuffled out of the room. Well her plan had worked…mostly. Minegishi knew, they were smart enough to get it, but…but that was ok. She picked Mukai up and left…
She knew better than to linger.
"But…ok…" said Mob. Of course Mukai would have wanted to go with her mom. Mob would have picked her mom, too, if she had been that little…it was important to stay with your mom…especially when your mom loved you. Especially when she wanted to be with you. Especially when she wouldn't have ever thought about running away…especially when she had a sister like Mob….
Mukai needed her mom. That was all there was to it.
"There. That's the end of it. I'll meet you in Tokyo to discuss…to work out some details. Goodbye, Shigeko." Said Suzuki as he got up. He couldn't be in this room for a moment longer. He couldn't be around her…he kept on walking. What was done was done and…and he had a lot to do…
Shigeko could handle herself.
"Bye…bye Dad…" said Mob. She watched Dad walk away. He just…he just walked right out the door. He was the one who'd called her, he was the one who'd set this meeting, and he was the one who'd left…but at least she could see him leaving. At least…at least he had told her goodbye.
That was more than she usually got.
Mom had just left. Dad had at least warned her…and at least she knew why Dad had left. Dad had left because she was all grown up now. She was…she was in charge of Tokyo HQ. She was in charge of…of a lot of things…not Mukai. She was gone. She was gone with her mom…she was lucky. She had a mom who loved her. She had a Dad who…who she was better off without. Maybe this was for the best…the best for Mukai. Maybe…maybe Mukai was better off with her mom and she was better off with…with just Sho…
And Minegishi.
They were hugging her now. It took her a minute to hug them back. She just…she was…she didn't know why Dad had left and they'd stayed. Mob had ruined their relationship with their best friend but they still wanted to be with her…they still wanted to be her best friend. She had hurt them as bad as one person could hurt another one…but they…they were still here…and her Dad was gone….and she was all alone and…and…and she wasn't alone. She was in this room.
She didn't want to be in this room anymore.