Shimazaki was a lot more fun as a friend than a boyfriend.
As a friend Mob could just sit there with him and drink, and have fun, without worrying about what was going to come next. What he would want to do, what she would want to do, how angry Minegishi would be at her wanting to do those things…and actually doing them. How angry she would have been at herself for not only wanting to do those things but actually going through with them. How she had…how she wasn't going to think about that right now. Or ever. It was done, she had decided that it was done, and…and now they were just friends. That was what they were, nothing more, and that was…what they were doing.
Going out. As friends.
"Ok, full disclosure I have no idea what I'm holding right now." said Shimazaki as he slid into the booth across from her. She had to stay sitting down, like normal, because she was way too young to be here. She was dressed up, and wearing makeup, and even high heeled boots so she'd look taller but sometimes people still asked her how old she was. She didn't like to lie, she wasn't good at it either, so the best thing was to stay here. Even Shimazaki thought so and he was usually pretty reckless.
Like now.
"Shimazaki, did you steal these?" asked Mob as he put two drinks down in front of them. One was bright green and in a glass with what she hoped was sugar, and feared was salt, all rubbed on the outside rim. The other was clear and had an olive on a toothpick sitting in the top. She reached out and took the pretty one. It looked sweeter. She knew that Shimazaki wouldn't have minded, he always wanted her to have the nicer of whatever he brought.
But only because he was such a good friend.
"Steal, borrow, take, snatch off the bar and run away with…all words that are applicable to this situation." Said Shimazaki as he took the other drink. She moved her hand before his could brush against hers. He had been the one to break them up, which she would always be grateful for, but just in case he was still in love with her…well she didn't want to give him any hope when there wasn't any.
"Did you have to? You have money….and you know that I don't like that." Said Mob. Shimazaki shrugged and took a sip of his drink…and then another…and then before she knew it the whole thing was gone. She stirred hers around with the pretty tiny umbrella that was sticking out of the top. She was going to pace herself, like Minegishi had always said…not that they would have been happy that she had been here…but she could at least use moderation.
Really, it was for her own good.
She had to go to the big Claw party tomorrow. It wasn't going to be as good without her friends, most of them, and without Sho and Mukai…well they could make anything fun. It wasn't like she could have gone with them. Even if she had been able to leave Tokyo it still wouldn't have worked out. They were in Seasoning City, where Teru lived, and Mob didn't know what she would have done if she'd had to see or speak to or…or even sense Teru again. Even thinking about it still made her a little sad…so she wouldn't think about it anymore. She was here, he was there, and they were never going to meet again. Ever. She didn't think that they could have been friends even if they had met again. Not after he had kicked her out after they had done that. After everything that had happened…it had been weird waking up next to Shimazaki afterwards but he hadn't kicked her out. They got pancakes. It had been the weirdest meal of her life, and she was counting all the times Shibata tried to make Mukai's meal inventions come to life, but he had still stayed with her…he hadn't kicked her out…
He was with her right now.
"That wasn't even worth paying for." Said Shimazaki slamming his glass down on the table.
"What was wrong with it?" asked Mob
"It was all olive juice." Said Shimazaki
"Gross!" said Mob, sticking out her tongue.
"I would have taken straight vermouth over that." Said Shimazaki
"That's even grosser. That's worse than drinking vodka from the bottle…and that's not all that fun either." Said Mob
"What? You'd really take a glass of olive juice over a glass of vermouth? Because if you want a glass of olive juice then I can go up and order you your own dirty martini." asked Shimazaki
"Yes…I think. Maybe? They're both gross…but I kind of like olives, at least, and they don't mess up my stomach." Said Mob
"That's why I got the martini and you didn't." said Shimazaki, reaching over and flipping her bangs up. If they had still been together he would have done that thing where he touched the side of her face, leaned in, and kissed her…things were normal now. He brought his hand back his side of the table. Mob watched him…things were normal now.
"You can tell what the drinks are? But before you said that you couldn't…or maybe you were kidding. I can't always tell." asked Mob
"I know how the glasses are shaped and how the drinks smell. Beyond that I don't have a clue. I'm thinking you got a margarita of some kind, judging by the glass, or it could just be a weirdly shaped glass." Said Shimazaki. Mob stopped stirring and took the little umbrella out. She'd save it for Mukai for later. She had a whole box full of these. She and Shimazaki used to go out a lot more, it had been fun back then, that had been one of the best parts. The best parts that she could think about, anyway, and not feel weird…she kind of felt weird. In trying not to feel weird she felt weird.
She drank her drink.
Salt on the rim...not sugar. She could deal with salt on the rim. Way too much lime juice, though, even enough to kill Sho if he'd been there. Not sweet enough. Just all limey and salty…not that good. The last place that they'd been had been better, but someone had asked her how old she was, so now she was here. Shimazaki had been having a good time at the last place. The drinks were better and he'd been talking to a boy, too, a lot. Maybe they had liked each other. Then they could have been boyfriends and Shimazaki could have been with someone who made him happy. In addition to Minegishi, of course, but they weren't back together yet…it was sad….so sad…
Mob took another sip.
It wasn't any better than the last one she took. Still way too limey and way too salty. She wondered if he wanted to go to another place. It would have been easy for him, he could teleport after all. They could have gone anywhere in the world, or at least the city. They could have fun anywhere. Normal fun. Not weird fun. Not like it would have been before. Not like…she put her glass down and folded her hands in her lap.
That part was over now. Things were back to normal now.
"It tastes like a salty lime." Said Mob
"In a good way or a bad way?" asked Shimazaki
"A bad way…why would anyone put salt on a lime? That sounds gross." Said Mob
"You've never had a salted lime? Or lemon?" asked Shimazaki
"No…and I don't think that salt goes with fruit at all." Said Mob, sticking out her tongue. She had no idea how he came up with such crazy things. Salted fruit…even Dad wouldn't have eaten that and she saw him drink ketchup a few times before.
"What about salted watermelon? Come on, you have to have had salted watermelon at some point." Said Shimazaki
"No, of course not." Said Mob. Shimazaki shook his head.
"Next time we go to Okinawa we're cracking a watermelon on the beach and we're salting it…and then we're going to drop pieces of watermelon down the backs of people's bathing suits because it's funny as hell." Said Shimazaki. He reached over and took her drink. She let him. She watched him as he, again, drank nearly the whole thing. He'd been doing that all night. His teleporting had been a little shaky, too. They'd fallen down when they landed here. His face was red and his eyes were opened a little bit…she knew what he was like when he got like that. She knew what she was like when she got like that. That was why she'd been pacing herself.
She didn't want to make another mistake.
And that was what it had been, a mistake. It had been…a lot of things…and she'd felt a lot of things…but now she knew that she had made a mistake that night with him. It wasn't going to happen again…and she meant it this time. Not like those other times. Not like when they'd gone out and done this and she'd watched him, noticed him, how wide his shoulders were….the way his hair never fully stayed spiked up…his hands…how tall he was….when she'd noticed all the things about him. Things that she wasn't supposed to…things that made her think about him…things that made her think about him as a boy and her as a girl…
She let him have the rest of her drink.
"Next time we go, too, we're going to a real bar. One of those beach bar places. The wind in your face, the sand in your hair, something fruity and tropical to drink…yeah, that'd be fun." Said Shimazaki
"Or maybe something with chocolate in it…I mean since it's your favorite thing." Said Mob
"Chocolate at the beach? Actually, it could work…yeah, it would work. Something chocolatey for me and something milky for you since, you know, you're pretty much singlehandedly keeping the Japanese dairy industry alive." Said Shimazaki
"I think it's other people than me. I mean I do drink a lot of milk but the milk here is the best so…so I think that it's other people, too." Said Mob
"Yeah, Japan does have pretty good milk…surprisingly good vodka, too. You know, they really should call it the a white Japan…or Japanese….or something. Russian vodka is so overrated and if you like Japanese milk too then, yeah, a white Japan…drink…thing. It's official, I'm renaming it for you!" said Shimazaki
"You don't have to rename a drink for me. I think that the other people in the world would be confused if the drink just had a different name all of a sudden. It's like how shoes have different names in other countries…like how America has to change the name of the manga and stuff…people don't like it when the names of things change." Said Mob. She swayed a little in her seat. It was the music that was making her sway, that was all. She'd been going easy on everything all night. It was loud in here, and packed. It was almost New Year's Eve…so maybe if she had been swaying then it could have been ok…
No. She wasn't going to risk it.
"I don't give a damn how other people feel, just you, and for you I will rename every single drink in the world!" said Shimazaki
"That would take a long time, though, and I think that you'd just end up getting bored." Said Mob
"Yeah, you're right, but you're still worth it. If I ever get an attention span then, and only then, I'll start renaming shit." Said Shimazaki
"You mean as friends, though, right? I mean…I mean you're only going to do that because you're my friend though…right?" asked Mob
"Yeah, what else would we be? I mean I guess we could be enemies but I don't think you've done anything to make an enemy out of me and I hope I haven't done anything to make an enemy out of you so…yeah, we're friends. Friends to the bitter, limey, olive juice coated end." Said Shimazaki with a laugh. Mob laughed back even though she didn't really know what was so funny…but that was normal for them. Sometimes he just laughed at things and she could either laugh along or try and figure out what was so funny…and most of the time it made no sense to her anyway so laughing was always the best bet.
"I didn't mean that we were enemies. I just meant…nothing. Nothing. Um…do you want to go somewhere else? Or we could get something else to drink or…or something." Said Mob, holding her hair down with her hands. The last thing that she wanted to go into right now was their breakup…it was just too awkward. What could she have even said? That she was glad…that would have been so mean…so the safest thing to do, really, was to say nothing at all and just…just be there, and have fun.
And keep her powers, and her feelings, under control.
"In a minute. I think I feel…this is going to sound crazy but I think that I feel Serizawa." Said Shimazaki. He had his head turned to the left and he was leaning…now that she focused in that direction she could feel it, him, too…but that was crazy. How would he have even known where to find her…and how could he had even managed to leave the house on his own. Sometimes she had trouble getting him to go into the backyard let alone across the city…
Maybe he missed her.
Yes, that would have made sense. Of course he must have missed her. She had just left him all alone in the house with nothing but his video games and TV for company. That had been kind of mean of her, actually. She had offered to bring him with but, of course, he had been too afraid...maybe he had changed his mind? That would have been wonderful! Then he could have gone out with her and Shimazaki, and things could have been less awkward with them, and also we could have had a good time and then ready to rejoin society. That was the important part. Serizawa rejoining society like he had always wanted to. She and Serizawa had been friends for years now but, really, nothing had changed. He was still just as afraid as he had been when she had saved him from his room. He was still just as afraid as ever.
But it looked like things had changed…for the better.
"I feel him too…maybe he got lonely and he wanted to hang out." Said Mob
"Yeah…maybe." Said Shimazaki. He crossed his arms and slouched back in the booth. He was upset, she knew him well enough to be able to tell when he was upset or not, though she didn't know him well enough to be able to tell why. He didn't like Serizawa that much, she knew that, but she didn't know why. Serizawa was a really nice person.
"What's wrong?" asked Mob
"With me? A lot of shit, actually. I haven't been sleeping more than three hours a night these past few days and I think it's really fucking me up." said Shimazaki
"That's why you're mad? Because you're tired? Because you can go home if you're tired, really, you don't have to stay because of me." said Mob
"Toshi would never forgive me if I left you alone out here and you wound up getting kidnapped or killed…and it's not that, either. It's just my own shit I have going on in my head, that's all. You want something else to drink? Or you want to get out of here?" asked Shimazaki
"I should wait for Serizawa. He probably went through a lot of trouble to track me down and I shouldn't just leave him." Said Mob
"Pretty sure he just asked Hatori to find you." said Shimazaki. Mob focused more…she could kind of feel him. Sort of. His aura had always been weird, like Minegishi's. His aura liked to travel through things, inside of things, it wasn't just…out, like everyone else's.
"You're right, I feel him too…but he didn't tell me that he was coming back…" said Mob. A scary thought. This might have meant that Dad was back…she felt around for him. She expanded her aura out as far as it would go. Dad's aura was just as big as hers and just as bright. He was easy to find…when he was there. If he had been there then…then she didn't know what she would have done. Ran away and hidden so they couldn't fight again? Ran to him and apologized for all that she had done to make him mad? Tell him that if he had such a problem with her then he could either work it out with her or go somewhere else? She didn't know…
She wished she still had her drink.
"He didn't tell me either but then again he doesn't have any reason to, and nobody tells me anything around here anyway." Said Shimazaki
"I tell you things." Said Mob
"Yeah, but only things that you've been informed of first." Said Shimazaki
"Huh?" asked Mob
"Nothing, nothing, nothing….nothing…and then more nothing…though at some point I suppose that nothing becomes something. You know what I mean?" asked Shimazaki
"I don't know what you mean at all…sorry." Said Mob
"That's alright. The only person who knows exactly what I mean is Toshi and they're…not here. Whatever. This place sucks, you want to get out of here?" asked Shimazaki
"But…what about Hatori and Shimazaki?" asked Mob
"Let's go and see what they're up to." Said Shimazaki as he reached out and took her hand. She let him, of course, since…since this was just a friends thing. Right? He wasn't holding it like he loved her. He just reached over, took her hand, and then the whole world fell away under her feet. One second she had been sitting at a table in a not so good bar and the next…
The next she was sitting in a car.
"What the fuck!?" screamed Hatori, louder than she'd ever heard him scream before. His aura filled the car and it started to swerve around the road. Mob reached out with her powers and kept them from driving onto the sidewalk. She felt Hatori's aura trying to stop hers, to pull the car out of her powers, like how Mukai tried to pull things away…but like with Mukai Mob was a lot stronger than Hatori.
She was the strongest out of all her brothers and sisters.
"Hatori, no. Be careful, we could all die. Also the driver's going to be mad at you if you mess with the car." Said Mob in the same way she would have told Mukai not to do something. She knew that she was the little sister now but she felt like the big sister. Hatori was such a little kid sometimes, like now. She knew that it must have been surprising to have people teleport right in front of him like that but he really should have been more careful.
He could have hurt someone acting like that.
The only auras she could feel were his, Shimazaki's, and Serizawa's. She held out her hand for Serizawa to hold. He took it in both of his and held it so tight that she thought that her fingers might break…not good. She couldn't feel a driver, also not good. That meant that Hatori was driving all on his own…did he have a license?
Did you even need one to drive a car with your powers?
"Yeah, who taught you how to drive?" said Shimazaki, laying down sideways and putting his feet on Serizawa's lap. It was one of those big cars, with the seats facing each other in the back. She forgot the name of it, she didn't know much about cars. She did know that it was a Claw car, though, there was the Claw symbol everywhere and it was red on the inside….these cars were supposed to have drivers, and for a good reason. She was pretty sure that driving cars was complicated. She was barely keeping it straight. Hatori was still trying to swerve it around…maybe if she stopped it…but then again stopping in the middle of the road was dangerous. She had to keep it going…she felt around with her aura….
She had never been very good at seeing the world this way.
"Pleas be careful…please be careful…please be careful…" said Serizawa, softly, like he was praying. His aura was super bright. Mob could absorb the excess power from him…but that would have made her own aura unstable…and right now it was taking everything that she had not to accidentally kill someone! Boys! Why did they always have to do such dangerous things?!
"Hatori, I need you to let go of the car so I can find a place to stop it." Said Mob. Hatori was hiding in his shirt, the one with all the anime girls on it…maybe some TV would calm him down? It worked for Mukai, and Sho too when he had been little. When they had been really little and Sho got upset Mom used to put Zootopia on for them so Sho would calm down…but Hatori was a lot older. He was nine years older than her, ten years older than Sho, and almost twenty years older than Mukai…she didn't know how to take care of someone that old. She didn't know how to drive a car. She always know what to do! But she had to always know what to do…she was Mob…she was always the big sister…
She was always the one in charge.
"Holy shit…we're going to die…we're all going to die and-" said Hatori
"Hatori, we're not going to die. Now stop the car like I asked you to." Said Mob, being bossy even though she really didn't like to. It was just so…so mean, ordering people around like that. She didn't know what else to do, though. Dad would have known, he was good at telling people what to do, but Dad wasn't there…and she didn't want him there.
She could handle this herself. Even if he had been there he would have just made it worse, anyway.
"You really should listen to her. I mean I've lived through worse but you're pretty fragile, like a porcelain doll or something." Said Shimazaki
"I am not fragile!" shouted Hatori. The car tried to speed up. Mob took a deep breath and closed her eyes. In for four, out for four…it was hard to tune out the world when it was this loud. Shimazaki was messing with Hatori, Hatori was freaking out, and Serizawa was breathing so hard and fast…she squeezed his hand back and pressed it to her chest, right above her heart. He was the one who needed to calm down, not her. His control was even worse than hers and…and she had to be the one in charge here. She was the one who had to make him feel safe. She was the one who had to make everything ok.
She would and could be that person.
"In for four, out for four." Said Mob, loud enough to be heard above Shimazaki and Hatori's argument…she had to keep Serizawa calm. She let her aura touch his. She moved her aura in and out, back and forth, to match her breathing. Slowly but surely he matched her. in for four, out for four…her and him. The car was still moving…she slowed it down. She could feel the cars around them, and the people. She could feel where there was space enough to stop.
They stopped.
She breathed in and out once more before letting go of Serizawa's hand. She opened her eyes…he was looking right at her. His eyes were kind of pretty, she noticed, the flecks of light brown in them. Hers were just plain brown. It was hard to notice his eyes, he was always looking down and trying to hide his face. He did that because he was scared all the time. Now…now he felt fine. Better….actually calm. She pulled her aura away from his…and he was calm, perfectly calm…
Which was a lot more than she could have said about Hatori.
"…should have you killed for what you did! I could have you killed if I wanted to! I can have anybody killed for any reason-" shouted Hatori. He was facing Shimazaki, now, though if he noticed he didn't seem to care. He still had his feet up on Serizawa's lap and he was lighting a cigarette. He felt calm, too. Hatori's aura, on the other hand, was bright. She could see it in the car and in her phone…in everyone's phone…
Brothers.
"Hatori, no, that's mean. Don't say things like that to people." Said Mob. Even Sho didn't threaten people like that, not anymore anyway. Hatori as a big brother…a brother…it wasn't looking like it was going to be that great. She didn't know what she had been expecting but this was not it…actually this might have been what she had been expecting. He had always been kind of…excitable…and a little on the mean side. She couldn't believe that she had ever been in love with him.
They wouldn't have been happy together at all, and also he was her brother now so it would have been really weird.
"Yeah…yes! I mean Miss Suzuki is right, it's mean to talk to people like that and…and you're a very nice person. You don't have to be mean!" said Serizawa. Shimazaki blew a smoke ring and laughed.
"Are you sure you're thinking of the right person?" asked Shimazaki
"You're not helping, Shimazaki, so just smoke your cigarette and leave Hatori alone." Said Mob
"I'll do one of those things but not the other." Said Shimazaki
"But I asked you to-" said Mob
"Mob! Are you ok?! Did he try anything? Blink once for yes and twice for no!" said Hatori. Mob didn't blink at all. She had no idea what he meant and she didn't have time to figure it out. He was upset…she had to fix it. That was her job. When Sho got this upset they just smoked together….but Hatori really wasn't supposed to smoke. He got really paranoid when he smoked, worse than Sho. One time he locked himself in the bathroom and wouldn't come out for over an hour….and a lot of people had needed to use the bathroom…
She pulled her Elsa bag in close. No, they wouldn't be doing that right now.
"What does no blinking at all mean?" asked Serizawa
"It means that I don't get it…but that's not important now. Hatori, it's so good to see you…or do I call you Nozomu now? Or big brother?" asked Mob. Maybe changing the subject would work. Sometimes when Mukai got upset it was best to distract her with something, like a new toy or a piece of candy, or just asking her about the things she saw that day. Hatori was a lot older than Mukai but…but maybe it would work…
His aura calmed down at least.
"Nozomu is fine, or big brother…or Hatori, too, I guess…I don't know. Whatever you want to call me, I guess…." Said Hatori. His breathing was getting back to normal and his aura was going back inside of his body where it belonged…but he still wasn't back to normal. She wished that she could have given him a drink or something to smoke or…or something, but none of that agreed with him. How did people calm down without drinking or smoking? How had she? She couldn't really remember that well.
"Or Suzuki! I mean since you're a…a Suzuki now…I mean." Said Serizawa
"I never saw that coming, I mean I never 'see' anything coming, but I never saw this coming. This went in completely the opposite direction I thought it would. I mean I always figured you'd end up sucking Suzuki's-" Said Shimazaki
"What the fuck is wrong with you!? That's sick!" shouted Hatori
"What's sick? What's he talking about?" asked Serizawa. Mob shrugged.
"I don't know and I don't think I want to know, if Hatori is getting upset. Shimazaki, smoke your cigarette and leave Hatori alone. Hatori, or, Nozomu I guess…try and calm down, ok? We could have died before." Said Mob
"I knew we should have brought the driver with us…" muttered Serizawa
"Drivers drive too slow, I told you." said Hatori
"Too slow for what? If you guys had wanted to come with then I would have come home and gotten you. I didn't even know that you were coming back, Dad never said anything." Said Mob. She knew that she and Dad weren't speaking right now but it would have been nice if he had told her that Hatori was coming home, or that he was adopting Hatori, or…or whatever else he had planned that he didn't plan on telling her about. Shimazaki complained that nobody told him anything…well nobody told her anything either…
But she wasn't going to get mad now, she couldn't, not when her friends and…and big brother, needed her.
"I-I didn't know either! I mean I was waiting for you to come back and then Hatori came back and-and I'm really sorry!" said Serizawa
"Don't be sorry, you don't control what Hatori does." Said Mob
"No! I mean….I mean…I mean that I'm sorry that…that I watched ahead on our show. I mean I just really missed you and I wanted to know what was going to happen next and I tried to speed run the first Mario, because it's relaxing and you told me that if I got upset I should do something relaxing, and then I just…wanted to see what came next. Please don't be mad at me! I mean you can feel however you want to feel but-but it would eb nice if you didn't get too mad at me!" said Serizawa. Mob passed him his umbrella with her powers. It had been on the floor of the car, and it had gotten kind of dirty, but he didn't seem to mind. She didn't mind either, not about his umbrella or the show. She should have thought more about him and how he…how he needed company. She should have been a better friend to him. She had been excited thinking that he had conquered his fears and was coming out to be with her but, really, she was the one who should have gone to him.
She should have been nicer to him. This was on her.
"That's alright, Serizawa, I'm not mad at you and I shouldn't have left you alone in the first place. I just…really wanted to…it doesn't matter what I wanted. I should have thought more about you…and I guess, too, that I should have been home too in case Hatori came home. I mean I didn't know you were coming home…um…next time when you come home can you warn me? Everyone's gone to Seasoning City and it's just me and Serizawa and Shimazaki…not that I'm complaining!" said Mob
"I'm not either. I just missed you a lot…that's all." Said Serizawa
"Well I missed the both of you, too. So how about we take this thing somewhere fun-" said Shimazaki
"We're not going anywhere! Mob's going home, with me, and-and that's just…that's what we're doing." Said Hatori. He was looking at Shimazaki right now, and his aura was showing again. Shimazaki just blew another smoke ring.
"Alright, you guys have fun at home playing videogames and watching your lives waste away. Mob and I, on the other hand, know that life is to live." Said Shimazaki, tossing the end of his cigarette onto the floor of the car. Mob rolled the window down with her powers and threw it out the window. A cold wind blew into the car, she rolled the window up quickly before they could catch cold. Fukuda was gone…something else that she had to worry about.
Sometimes it felt like her life was nothing but a bunch of different worries all rolled together.
She had to worry about herself, about her friends, about her family, about all of Claw…it was just one thing after another and another. She could feel her aura trying to grow, a pressure behind her eyes, a headache coming on. She had been pacing herself too much. If she had been going as hard as Shimazaki had wanted her to go then she wouldn't have been worried. She would have been able to ignore everything happening around her. Shimazaki trying to start fights with everyone…Hatori being all scared…Serizawa being on the very edge of being scared….she would have been able to ignore everything. She would have been able to relax.
She could never relax.
That was the way that her entire life had been for as long as she could remember. She didn't know anything else. For her entire life she'd had her powers. They'd always been so much, too much, and she had always wanted so badly to be able to just…just make it stop. To make her powers listen. Now she could, sort of, but…but she also had to…she had a lot to do. To worry about…and it never ended. It took so long to just…she didn't even know.
Her hair was starting to float.
Shimazaki tossed her a cigarette. Hatori tried to catch it but it just jumped from hand to hand before Mob caught it with her powers. She offered it to Hatori, maybe he smoked now. She didn't know, she hadn't seen him in so long. She had missed him and now he was here and…and she should have been happy. She should have been incredibly happy to see her friend, her brother now, again. She should have even been happy that he took the cigarette, he really needed to figure out a way to keep calm, but he didn't smoke it. He just held onto it and gave Shimazaki a look. She wondered if he knew that even if Shimazaki could tell he didn't care. She wondered if Shimazaki cared at all that they were here and not having fun. She wondered, too, if Serizawa cared that he'd come all the way out here, out of his room, and now they were just sitting here and fighting with one another. She wondered…she wondered…
She wondered if they were going to go anywhere, or just sit here all night and fight.
"Mob, you really shouldn't smoke like that. It's not good for you." said Hatori
"Fukuda's going to be back soon, I'll be fine. I don't really get sick that much anyway…but, um, thanks for worrying about me? I guess?" asked Mob
"I am worried. I'm very worried. Mob, come on, let's go home. You don't have to be here, you don't have to be with Shimazaki. I know that you've been through a lot and…and it's over, now, ok? Just come home with me and it'll all be ok." Said Hatori
"We broke up so stop overreacting." Said Shimazaki, kicking Hatori lightly.
"They did! I mean they did and…and um…that's what happened." Said Serizawa
"Wait…what? That doesn't even….you guys were never together! He never liked you, Mob, he only wanted to…uh…ok, so you know when two people love each other very much or…um…" asked Hatori
"Yeah, that's right, I did love her." said Shimazaki. Hatori turned a weird color and tried to hit Shimazaki. Mob held him back with her powers. Really? Did they have to fight like this right now? What was it with boys and fighting? And what was it with her friends and minding her business and not theirs?
"Please! No! Don't fight!" said Serizawa. His aura was getting brighter….she had to end this before it even started.
"Stop it, please, just stop…stop fighting!" said Mob
"Mob, I can't. I'm your brother and as your brother I am duty bound to kick Shimazaki's ass…um…to beat him up for what he did to you." said Hatori
"And how in the hell are you going to do that?" asked Shimazaki as he flicked Hatori over the head. Hatori made a weird noise and tried to grab his hand but he was too fast. He swiped Hatori's glasses off of his face. Mob took them back and put them where they belonged.
"Fuck you! Fuck you for being an asshole and fuck you for what you did to Mob! And fuck you for-for everything that you've ever said or done up to this point in your life!" said Hatori
"That still doesn't answer my question. How in the hell are you going to kick my ass? Do you really think that you can take me?" asked Shimazaki
"I-I could! I mean with Serizawa backing me up I could!" said Hatori
"I-I don't want to take him or-or anyone!" said Serizawa. Mob held his hand close to her chest and made some of those soothing noises that she used to make for Mukai when she had been really little. She wasn't sure what else she could do. They were fighting, again, and…and maybe it was the same fight or…or maybe it had been one fight since the very beginning of their friendship. She didn't know…it wasn't supposed to be this hard. This complicated. Friendship was supposed to be easy and fun….like it used to be when she had been little.
"Please, nobody is taking anyone. Can't you guys just stop fighting for….I don't know. For a few minutes? I think that maybe everyone is just a little too upset right now. I don't know why but…but whatever it is I'm that if you tell me I can try to fix it…." Said Mob
"I'm fine, Mob, it's not about you. It's about him and…and you're too little to get it. It's just…ok, you said that you broke up with him, right? You never should have been with him and…and I should have done more for you, and I'm sorry-" said Hatori
"That's what everyone's been saying. You, Minegishi, Tsuchiya, Shibata, and I don't get it. Sometimes people break up. It happens. It's sad but it happens, you know? I mean maybe you don't since you've never had a girlfriend or a boyfriend before." Said Mob. Shimazaki laughed…but he shouldn't have. There was nothing funny at all about how nobody had ever loved Hatori like that…and he was making Hatori even madder, too, and he was already kind of mad.
"I-I'm sorry, Hatori but…but it's ok. I've never had a girlfriend either! Or a boyfriend!" said Serizawa
"Well, you two know what you have to do now, right? Time to ride off into the sunset…sunrise, together. It's probably going to rise soon…I don't know what time it is." Said Shimazaki
"I-I don't like him like that! I mean I don't like…I only like girls and…and there's nothing wrong with not liking girls of liking both but…but I only like girls! And…and…um…it's ok, Hatori, even if don't like you then, I mean like that, then…then you can meet someone else and even if you don't then it'll be good, too. That way you'll never get broken up with…um….sorry, Miss Suzuki." Said Serizawa
"It's alright, sometimes people break up, I'm not sad." Said Mob
"You shouldn't be, I mean you should be, I mean…Mob…you don't get it and you're too young to get it and…and it doesn't matter. You never broke up with him because you were never together and…and you'll get it when you're older, ok?" asked Hatori
"Hatori, no, I don't want to talk about this. We broke up a while ago and…and I don't mind. Now things are finally getting back to normal and…and I don't really like talking about all of this, ok? It's my business and…and it's all everyone's been talking about for months now and I just want things to be normal so…so let's hang out and…and maybe go somewhere together, ok? Somewhere fun." Said Mob. Hatori's aura got bright again. He looked at Serizawa for a while, making a weird motion with his eyes that Mob had never seen before.
"I….oh! Miss Suzuki, um, do you want to…do you want to come home? I mean I missed you a lot and I came here to be with you and…and going somewhere might be a lot for me right now but…but if you want to keep on being…being with Shimazaki then that's ok too! I mean I just want you to be happy!" said Serizawa
"Well isn't that nice of you." said Shimazaki in a tone that Mob hadn't heard him use before. It didn't sound good…well he kind of didn't like Serizawa. Or Hatori. She wondered, sometimes, if her friends could even be called friends if all they ever did was fight with each other. She was getting so tired of fighting…she was just getting tired in general…
"Serizawa, come on. That's not what we…uh…hey Mob! You want to come home? It's late and…um…I'm afraid of the dark?" asked Hatori. Mob sighed. If he was scared of the dark then he really should have stayed home…but she wasn't going to say that to him. She wasn't going to be mean to him like that. She loved her friends…and her siblings…and when you loved someone then you did whatever you could to make them happy.
Their happiness was more important than hers, after all.
"Ok…I guess we can go home. I mean Shimazaki can go wherever he wants, since he can teleport, but we can all go home now…I guess." said Mob. Shimazaki didn't say anything, he just teleported away. Probably somewhere fun…more fun than being at home…no, not right. That was mean and she wasn't going to be mean. She was going to go home and have fun with her friends and brother…even though it probably would have been fun hanging out with Shimazaki like normal…for the first time in forever.
He was a lot more fun as a friend than a boyfriend but she had other friends she had to think about….and Hatori…who might have been more fun as a friend than a big brother.