Everyone died.

Everyone who lived, everyone who had ever been born, eventually die. That was inevitable. There was no hiding from it. There was no avoiding it. There was no opting out of it. If you were born you were going to die. The human lifespan was about seventy to eighty years. that was plenty of time to do what had to be done. Plenty of time to be the person who you were meant to be. Plenty of time to make the world what you knew it was meant to be. As long as nothing happened to you, then you had plenty of time, but if something did happen...

Then that was the end of it.

"You aren't going to die." Said Suzuki. This was not the end of it. This was not going to be the day that Hatori Nozomu died. It couldn't be. They had plans. They had work plans and social plans and there was no way that he was going to let Hatori die, now, not when there was so much work to be done. There was money to be stolen, people to be disgraced, and also he'd been logged out of the Netflix again. Hatori was the only one who remembered the password. There was no way he was going to let Hatori die.

It was just a matter of practicality.

"Everything's going dark…" muttered Hatori, his body going limp…he was fine. Suzuki could see his aura, it was normal….normal for him. His soul wasn't trying to crawl out through his navel, that was the important part. Hatori was fine. They had just gotten shot at, that was all, it happened every single…well, not every single day…but it happened often enough that it shouldn't have even been something of note.

It was normal.

The number of attempts on his life had quadrupled in these past few weeks. He had been more brazen in his work, more bold in his grab for funds and manpower, and he should have expected this…he was fine. He had managed to put a barrier up around himself. He didn't have a scratch on him. Not a hair was out of place.

The same could not be said for Hatori.

Suzuki had told Hatori time and time again that he needed to stay near Suzuki for his own good. it was just safer, especially here. People were not so brazen in Japan…most of Japan. Tokyo was a different place entirely than St. Petersburg. The violent corners of it were more tucked away, out of sight, out of mind. This was a different place…he should have taken it into account. He shouldn't have let Hatori wander so far away. He wasn't Tadashi, he couldn't heal…Suzuki should have done more to look out for him.

He wasn't Tadashi.

"Open your eyes." Said Suzuki. He reached out with his powers and grabbed Hatori's glasses. He had managed to drag him back inside. Someone had been laying in wait outside of their home…someone had known where they lived. He had always taken a philosophy of hiding in plain sight. It was suspicious if you hid. If you lived out in the open, like you had nothing to hide, then people assumed that you were hiding nothing…not that he was reckless, of course. His legal name wasn't on anything. Every bit of property he owned was either in the name of the Suzuki Conglomerate or one of his dummy companies. It all led back to the Suzuki Conglomerate…but there were several companies which went by similar names. It wasn't as though he had taped a signed to the door saying 'Suzuki Touichirou's room, keep out' to the front door. He was careful, he covered his tracks…and even if someone figured out that these homes were owned by Claw there was no way to tell which particular home he was living in at a given time.

And yet someone had been laying in wait for him.

"I can't." said Hatori, his voice breaking…he should have been well beyond that…but he was young. That was all. He was young and dramatic…Suzuki sat him up. He was fine. He was just over exaggerating.

"Stop that." Said Suzuki

"I'm not doing anything…I can't even move…" said Hatori. As if to illustrate his point he let his head flop down to the side. He leaned his body heavily against Suzuki's…not good. Between Hatori's weight on him, the fact that he was sitting on the ground, and the fact that in his panic he had physically dragged Hatori inside instead of using his powers….not a good move…his back was killing him. He needed to lay down…but he couldn't. He had to move. They both had to keep on moving. He had managed to find, and crush, the shooter…but there may have been another…waiting there…laying in wait…

They had to keep moving.

"Your spine is undamaged. You were shot in the arm. You're perfectly capable of sitting up, so do that now. We have to move. If there is one then there must be another and I…I find being shot at to be very tiresome." Said Suzuki. He wasn't scared. No, there had been nothing frightening about what had happened. He had always courted death, especially when he had been young. He and Tadashi had spent so many days trying to find the limits of Tadashi's healing abilities. Jumping from tall heights, sticking nails in electric sockets, drinking household cleansers…

They had been reckless.

Reckless idiots….Suzuki was past that. He wasn't being reckless. He wasn't frightened, either. He was just…he was just tired. That was all. He had to get back to work. This had derailed his entire day. When one day got derailed the rest would follow and soon their schedule would be meaningless. He had to get up…he had to get Hatori up…

Because, really, there was no need to be quiet so dramatic.

"I'm tired…so tired…." Said Hatori. Suzuki put two fingers to Hatori's pulse point. He was fine. His heart was still beating…it was beating very quickly…but any beating at all was good. He wasn't dying.

'No, you're not. You are not tired and you are certainly not dying. You got shot in the arm. Nobody dies from being shot in the arm." Said Suzuki. Were there major arteries there? He honestly couldn't remember. Human anatomy had never been an interest of his, even back when he'd been in school…and he had never been the best at first aid either…

He'd cauterized Hatori's wound. Hatori was going to be fine.

"Yes I am. I'm dying. I'm bleeding out-" said Hatori

"I cauterized your wound, you are in no danger of bleeding out." Said Suzuki

"I'm dead! I'm deader than death. Deader than point and click adventure games or…or cartridges…deader than even…than the 7800." Said Hatori, his words punctuated by coughing…which made no sense. His lungs were fine…and also the 7800 was not dead. So Hatori was fine, just as he'd known all along.

"So you're alive, then. Good." Said Suzuki

"No, I'm dead. That thing was dead on arrival and I'm dead on arrival. I can feel my soul crawling up through my throat-" said Hatori

"You are mistaken on both counts. Souls crawl out through the navel, I've seen enough people dying to know how it works, and also the 7800 was not dead on arrival. The 7800 was the pinnacle of creation and I won't hear a word about it." Said Suzuki. Hatori opened his eyes….he did so just to roll them but that was enough for Suzuki. Hatori was fine. Suzuki didn't know what he had been expecting.

He wasn't going to let Hatori die.

"Now that I'm dying I can finally tell you…the Famicom was better." said Hatori. He laughed, barely. He was breathing like…like something had happened….but he'd been shot in the arm. The bullet had passed cleanly through Hatori's arm. It had gone nowhere near his chest.

He was fine.

"I'm going to assume that you're delusional from the blood loss and, therefore, will not be dignifying that with a response. Now get up." said Suzuki, trying to push Hatori off of him. Hatori was leaning heavily against him…he should have been able to sit up on his own. He wasn't so very injured. He was safe. He was fine. He was…there was so much blood…

The human body had about a gallon and a half of blood in it.

"I can't!" said Hatori

"Yes you can. Now get up. You're acting like more of a child than my actual children." Said Suzuki

"I'm not acting like a kid! I'm acting like someone who got shot!" said Hatori

"You're acting like a child who got shot, in that case, and you're going to stop. You are being overly dramatic. You are not bleeding out. You were not shot in any major organs. You are not dying. Your soul is where it belongs, within the confines of your body, and even if it had been trying to crawl out through your navel I would not let it. I would take it and force it right back inside of your body where it belongs. I would never let you die, Hatori, you know that." Said Suzuki

"Well you almost did! I got shot and you put a barrier up around yourself-" said Hatori

"Force of habit. I'm usually with Tadashi and he can heal himself from just about everything. I forgot who you were…and how fragile you are." Said Suzuki. He ran a hand across Hatori's arm. He hissed and pulled away…at least now he was sitting up. He was fine. He was in pain but he was fine…perfectly fine. The wound on his arm was…a lot bigger, it seemed, now that he was sitting up…and the blood…there was quite a bit more blood than he had remembered…

The human body had a gallon and a half of blood in it.

There, on Hatori's shirt, all down his side…that couldn't have been more than a few tablespoons…if that. If he had truly lost enough blood for it to have affected him then it would have done something to obscure the truly horrible design on his shirt. Suzuki strongly suspected that those were cropped images from pornography. He couldn't ask, of course, since that was not the sort of thing he wanted to discuss with Hatori…or anyone, for that matter. He hated that shirt. Hatori had tried to leave in that shirt and a jacket which he said could not be zipped…so Suzuki had sent him back inside in search of a different jacket…

He should have gone with Hatori.

Because he, obviously, couldn't be trusted to dress himself and…and because he would have been closer. Physically. Then Suzuki would have thought to include Hatori in his barrier or…or he would have just been automatically included because of proximity. Suzuki had been trying to explain away his own failure. Not good. He could admit to his own failures, he had to, otherwise he would just be doomed to repeat the same failures over and over and over again.

Next time he would go with Hatori

"I'm not fragile." Said Hatori before he got to his feet. He was unsteady. He attempted to push off from the floor with his damaged arm…dominant. It nearly gave way under him. Suzuki caught him, of course, though for some reason Hatori tried to push his aura away.

"I've got it!" said Hatori as he steadied himself. Suzuki pulled himself from the ground with his powers. His back wouldn't let him get up under his own power…standing wasn't much better than sitting. He needed to lay down…but he didn't have the time right now.

"I'm not fragile." Muttered Hatori

"Clearly you are." Said Suzuki, motioning to the wound on his arm. It had been burnt shut. He was going to be fine…though the sight of it was incredibly unpleasant. The smell of it too. It smelled to close to burning meat for his tastes, though of course that was all that human beings were at the end of the day. Meat. Flesh. Bone. They were, at the end of the day, their bodies…their very fragile human bodies.

"I'm not! I'm in a lot of pain, and I'm kind of pissed off, but I'm not fragile." Said Hatori

"You are. You are fragile in the same way that all people are…and yes, I can admit, you came very close to death…but you didn't die and you stand no hope of dying. I would never let you die." Said Suzuki

"You almost let me die! I can't believe you didn't put a barrier up around me too!" said Hatori

"I told you that it was force of habit. I'm used to traveling with Fukuda and my children can all put up barriers…well only Sho and Shigeko, but Mukai will most likely be able to when she gets older. You, however, will never be able to put up a barrier and…and I am perfectly capable of learning from this failure. Next time I will make sure to keep you near me." said Suzuki

"Next time…fuck! There's going to be a next time, isn't there? There's always a next time…" said Hatori. He began to mutter to himself…not good. Tiresome, actually, and annoying…a bit worrying, too. He could admit that….that despite the fact that the entire situation was under control he had been worried…and he was still worried. That was…the human body contained a gallon and a half of blood…but still, Hatori had lost enough blood to turn an entire section of his shirt red…brown, in some places. Blood turned brown when it oxidized.

Still a lot of blood, though.

"Stop that panicking. I'll be by your side next time." Said Suzuki. He would.

"I'm not panicking and I'm not fragile! I'm just a little freaked out because I just got shot and-and this hurts! Did you have to burn it closed?" asked Hatori

"Yes, I did. You had been shot through the arm, there was quite a bit of blood. I had to cauterize the wound otherwise you would have bled to death…and I don't know what I would have done if that had happened….so stop your complaining. You won't die. You should be grateful. Others would not have been so lucky." Said Suzuki

"I am grateful! I can be grateful and…and hurt at the same time. This really fucking hurts! It hurts to move, it hurts to sit still….it just really hurts!" asked Hatori

"Would you rather be in pain or dea…bleeding?" asked Suzuki

"I'd rather be home." Said Hatori

"Then come on. We can't make this place our home anymore, it's obviously been compromised. I don't know how they found us but they found us. Now come on." Said Suzuki. He started to walk away…but Hatori did not follow. Why were all of his children so stubborn? Sho, Shigeko, even Mukai to a degree. Suzuki couldn't remember being that stubborn when he'd been Hatori's age…though at twenty two he hadn't had anyone to answer to but himself.

"Who even are THEY? And what if they find us again? What if-" said Hatori

"Enough 'what ifs'. We need to move. Now. Don't argue with me again." Said Suzuki

"Fine…but if we're going can we please pick Fukuda up on the way?" asked Hatori. Suzuki turned and stared at him. On the way….they weren't even in the same…well, yes, it was the same continent but…but Tadashi was in Seoul doing God only knew what and…and Suzuki didn't need him. Anyway it was impractical and they could not afford any impracticalities right now.

"Seoul is nowhere near-" said Suzuki

"Can we please get him! I know that you dumped him and it's weird for you but-but I almost died! Ok? I almost died and…and I don't want t die! And this shit hurts! A lot!" said Hatori. He motioned towards his arm…Suzuki had been a bit overzealous in cauterizing that wound. There was a massive red patch, blisters, and…and it was worse on the other side. The exit wound had been quite a bit bigger than the entrance wound and…and it did look painful.

He didn't much want to put up with Hatori's complaining.

"Fine." Said Suzuki simply. There was nothing else that he could say. Tadashi would come, heal that, and then leave. They would not speak to each other or look at each other. That was how it went with a breakup…and that wasn't even what this was. They had never been together. They had been…very close…but now they were not. There were no emotions surrounding their relationship or the end of it. None at all.

And even if there had been then Hatori's life would have obviously come first.

"Seriously! It feels like-wait, what?" asked Hatori

"Summon Fukuda if it'll make you…you feel better. He comes, he heals you, and then he leaves. Do that and then let's get going before you get shot again." Said Suzuki

"Wait…you're really letting me call him? Seriously?" asked Hatori. Was that so hard to believe?

"Yes. Now do so before I change my mind, and let's get going before you get shot again. You got lucky this time. Let's not try your luck again." Said Suzuki

"Wow…just…thanks, Touichirou. It really…thanks." Said Hatori

"You're welcome Nozomu…now never doubt me again. You know that I would never let any hard come to you, let alone death. I doubt I could ever replace you." said Suzuki. Hatori's aura lit up…not good when they were supposed to be hiding. He didn't understand that man and he never would. What? Did he think that Suzuki had let him get shot on purpose or something? That was completely insane. Even if Hatori had just been another asset Suzuki still would have done his best to protect him. The element of caring…well that just made the whole thing worse. Better? More…more of whatever it was. Emotional.

That was the word for it.

Emotional. He was letting himself get emotional. He needed to exorcise his emotions and focus on moving forward. There was a security breach, maybe even a mole…but they'd ferreted out all of the moles already…but of course if there were moles then they wouldn't have made him aware of their presence….damn it. He did not need a mole right now. He did not need any kind of setback. He was so close…so close that he could nearly taste it.

It tasted like iron.

He spat. Blood….right. He had panicked a bit…he was fine. He didn't need Tadashi. He didn't even feel whatever that had been. What he had gone through was nothing compared to what had happened…had almost happened to Hatori. What would not be happening again. Tadashi would come, heal them, and leave. Then Suzuki could focus on the important things. Like taking over the world. The things he could control. He could find whoever did this and then they'd die and he…he wouldn't have to worry about death for a while. His own or Hatori's.

Everyone died but Suzuki preferred to die of old age, if it was possible, and he assumed Hatori felt the same way.