At least it wasn't iodine.

Hatori sat on the fuzzy toilet lid. He wanted to get down, to jump off and just…go. Find somewhere small and cozy to hide…but that wasn't an option. Even if he could feel the tension in every inch of his body. It was like he just…he needed to move. He eyed the bathtub…the cabinet under the sink…the laundry hamper. There was just too much space, too much space around him, and he just…he needed to move…to leave…

He couldn't, he was too old for that. He was the big brother here.

"Ok…so now we have to make sure that the wounds are clean and then-" said Mob as she read something from her phone. She held it in front of her with her powers. It chimed. He snooped before he had a chance to stop himself. He didn't really want to know too much of what went on with Mob, there were some things you just didn't want to know about your friend/little sister, but it was a force of habit. She got another alert from Instagram…he set it to private again.

It was, literally, the least that he could do to keep her safe.

He had tried, before, to protect her. He had tried to tell Shimazaki to stay the hell away from her then one thing led to another and then the next thing he knew they were fighting…and he was losing. He hadn't even stood a chance. Shimazaki had lifted him up, without using his powers, and thrown him…he was strong. He was bigger and stronger than Hatori could ever hope to be…and it could have been worse. He tensed…it could have been a lot worse. For Mob's sake, he had said, he wasn't using his powers…he wasn't doing anything that would hurt him permanently…

Which was the only reason Hatori still had all of his permanent teeth.

"Wounds?! I didn't know that he had wounds! I thought he just had a bloody nose…what are we going to do? I don't know anything about wounds…I don't know anything about bloody noses….I don't know anything about anything…" said Serizawa. He was freaking out enough for the two of them. Why, Hatori didn't know. It wasn't like he was the one Shimazaki had come after…the one who had picked a fight with Shimazaki. No, he had been at Mob's side like he always was.

Like Hatori couldn't be.

Touichirou needed him. Some kind of digital heist, some company that stopped backing them, the details weren't important. What was important was that Hatori was going to be leaving Mob all alone with Shimazaki. As far as he could tell Minegishi had no plans of coming back any time soon…even though they were the only one who could get Shimazaki to listen…and Shibata was pretty much going to stay wherever Tsuchiya wanted to stay and she'd made her feelings more than clear…not that Shimazaki listened to either of them…not that he listened to anyone other than Minegishi…

How could they have just…left…like that?

"Serizawa, no, you know a lot of things about a lot of things…like…um…you know how to jump over the flagpole in the first Mario, that's something. You know where all the secret rooms in Zelda are, that's something else and…um…you remember the code for unlimited lives in Super Kicky Fighter, too, and it's really complicated." Said Mob as she wiped the blood from his face. He looked down. The cat on the front of his sweater looked like someone had tried to kill it…Mob didn't seem to mind. She didn't seem to mind any of this. He would have expected that someone in her position would have been crying…she had been through so much…but she just had that look she always got when she was hard at work. If anyone was freaked out here it was Serizawa…no, even he was calmer now. His aura looked less like a ball of static electivity, he wasn't shaking in place anymore, and he just seemed downright…calm?

Or at least by Serizawa's standards.

"Up, up, down, down, left, right, left…um…A, B, B, A, and then start…but that's the code to everything. It's really not that hard to remember and…and Hatori knows a lot more codes than me. I mean he doesn't need to remember them but…but that means…um…" said Serizawa

"It means that you're both two different people who are good at two different things and that's ok, ok?" asked Mob

"It does but-but I don't know anything about this! I mean I've never seen anyone beaten up this badly before…I don't know why Shimazaki would do such a terrible thing." Said Serizawa

"Because he's an asshole, obviously." Said Hatori. How did he not know this by now? Shimazaki was an asshole to everyone, Serizawa included. Hatori couldn't count the number of times he'd woken up to find Serizawa hard at work separating out different colored M&Ms or Skittles for someone who didn't even know what color even was! What, did he think that it was normal…maybe. Serizawa's normal meter was pretty broken, it seemed sometimes. His best friend was Mob after all and he didn't even seem to notice or care how that looked…

Not that he didn't trust Serizawa, of course.

"He's not a…that word. He just likes to fight and sometimes he takes it too far. I'm sure that he's really sorry about how badly he beat you up." said Mob

"We both know that he isn't, and anyway, I don't want him to be sorry. He deserved it." Said Hatori. Shimazaki deserved more than getting his ass kicked. He deserved to rot in a hole somewhere until he died…or teleported out…there was no way to contain him…there was…there had to be something that could be done! Touichirou had said, before, that he could do anything…so why wasn't fucking Shimazaki up so bad that he never even so much as glanced in Mob's direction on that list?

"He deserved to beat you up? How does that work? Nobody deserves to be beaten up, at least I don't think so…and I don't know how that would even work, anyway so…um…I don't know." asked Mob

"I-I don't know how that works, either…sorry." Said Serizawa

"No, no, don't be. Even my Dad says that it's ok to admit when you don't know something and my Dad's kind of…kind of a jerk, about a lot of things." Said Mob

"Your Dad…our Dad…he's going to…when he hears about this he's going to do something." Said Hatori. Touichirou was going to do something…right? He had nearly beaten Shimazaki to death before, maybe this would be the thing to finally push him to do what he had to do…or maybe not. He was so weird with Mob…well he was weird with all of them…but he was the weirdest with Mob. In some ways she was lucky, she didn't piss him off like Sho did, but in some ways she wasn't…at least he sort of gave a damn, or he used to anyway, about what Sho did…even if it was to tell him that he wasn't allowed to be gay…which was a problem in and of it's self…

Hatori was never having kids. There was no way he could possibly live with this kind of stress on a daily basis.

"Then he probably shouldn't be hearing about this. I don't want him to beat Shimazaki up again, I don't want him to beat anyone up. I just want…I just wish that everyone could get along and I wish that things could get back to normal…but I guess that they can't…" said Mob

"You're normal! I mean you're normal, Miss Suzuki, and that's good….I mean you've always been normal so…um…I don't know where I was going with that. I'm sorry." Said Serizawa

"No, no, don't be. You have nothing to be sorry about…and I don't think…I mean I guess I'm normal, I mean I feel normal, but also everything is weird and stuff. Everyone left and now everyone's beating each other up and…and why did you have to do that, Hatori? You know that Shimazaki is bigger than you and you know how much he loves fighting." Said Mob

"I had to do it. I can't just let him get away with what he did to you and-" said Hatori

"Hatori! Nozomu, please, can we please not talk about it. We were together, then we broke up, and now we're just friends. That's all. I don't want to talk about it, ok? If you had a girl that liked you and then you broke up with her then-then I wouldn't ask you about her or bring it up or beat her up….I mean I'd say something mean to her and maybe tell her that she was a b-word for breaking your heart but I would never beat anyone up. I can't beat people up…" said Mob

"I think that you could, Miss Suzuki…I mean I have no idea why you would want to but if you ever had to beat someone up then with your powers I think that you could win….I mean I don't know why you would want to fight with anyone but….but with your powers then you could win at any fight…I meant…" said Serizawa

"That's why I can't fight, because I'm strong enough that I could win at anything…and hurt someone, too, in the process. I don't want to hurt anyone and I don't want to fight. I just want everyone to get along. Why isn't that an option?" asked Mob

"I-I could fight for you! I mean if…if someone tried to fight with you then I would defend you…I mean." said Serizawa. That was…an idea…but the thought of Serizawa fighting anyone was crazy…but then again he was a lot bigger and stronger than Hatori was…he was even bigger than Shimazaki, maybe, not that he had measured them or anything….but he looked bigger and he was definitely stronger….more powerful.

"But you hate fighting just as much as I do." Said Mob

"I care more about you than I hate fighting." Said Serizawa

"I could never ask that of you." said Mob

"I would do anything for you, Miss Suzuki." Said Serizawa

"If you'd do anything then next time help me or…or something. I don't know….he can teleport and he's really strong-" said Hatori

"He can lift me without telekinesis and I weigh-" said Mob

"Mob! Come on!" said Hatori, shaking his head. No, no, no! He did not need to know about…no! That was just…no!

"What? I think that it's hard to lift something as heavy as a person without your powers. I could never lift anything as heavy as a person without my powers." Said Mob

"I think that I could lift you…I never tried, though, because I never had to. I might even be able to lift Hatori since he's about your size…I mean, if you ever need me to lift someone for you then I will!" said Serizawa

"I don't need you to, it's ok…I don't ever know when I'll need that." Said Mob

"You are bigger than Shimazaki, I think…there's got to be limit to the number pf people that he can fight at once. At some point there's got to be too many people and he won't know where to teleport…we might even be able to get him to teleport to a specific place and then we can get him…yeah, you and me could take him together." Said Hatori

"Take him where?" asked Serizawa

"Wherever we can get him!" said Hatori

"No! Nobody is taking anybody anywhere and there's not going to be any more fighting. Hatori, I love you a lot and…and if you're going to be a part of this family then you have to listen to me. Dad promoted me to Mom rank a while ago and…and also I outrank you in Claw so…so please listen to me when I ask you not to fight with Shimazaki or anyone else…ok? We broke up and it's not like he broke my heart or anything so you have no reason at all to be mad." Said Mob

"Mob…of course I'm mad! He slept with-" said Hatori

"I have to get more….um…I have to get some ice for your face! Right now!" said Mob as she ran out of the room. She bumped into the doorframe on her way out. Serizawa gasped and dropped the rubbing alcohol again. He tried to pick it up but it slipped through his fingers and slid towards Hatori. He picked it up and held onto it. He remembered the iodine. This could have been better, or worse, than the iodine…and he didn't want to deal with iodine right now.

He didn't want to deal with anything right now.

But he had to. He had a lot to deal with. This being a big brother thing was hard as fuck, really it was. It should have been simple, keep the creep away from his little sister, but that creep was at least a meter taller than him, it felt, and could lift him up without using his powers…Hatori hated being this small, this size. He wasn't much taller than Mob and Sho, and he didn't weight much more either…his powers weren't much either. Not in a fight…and there was nothing else he could do to Shimazaki but fight him…and obviously that hadn't gone well…

He wished that he were bigger…stronger….better. But he wasn't. He was just…this. Himself. Hatori.

"I….I have to hold onto that. Miss Suzuki told me to." Said Serizawa, holding his hand out. Hatori handed him the rubbing alcohol. He didn't want to hold onto this. He didn't even want to be here…what was the point of being here if he just…what was the point of being a big brother if he was so bad at it?

Maybe he had been better as a friend.

"It…it doesn't look that bad….I mean you don't look bad but…um…it doesn't look like you're very hurt! Not that I know what it looks like when someone is very hurt. I don't like looking when people get very hurt…or even a little bit…" said Serizawa

"Thanks…I guess. I don't know. It's hard, you know?" asked Hatori

"I think that all you need to do is get the blood cleaned off and then the ice…I'm not sure what the ice is for…but if it is bad then you can just go and see Fukuda, or he can come to you, so…so it's not that hard, I think. I don't know…." said Serizawa

"I don't know either….I mean I thought I did….but I don't." said Hatori

"It's ok, though, because Miss Suzuki knows." Said Serizawa. Hatori shook his head.

"Mob only thinks that she knows. It's like…it's like she just doesn't want to listen. Or like she doesn't care or…or maybe I'm the only one who cares. I don't know how you can be so ok with this. You're pretty much her best friend next to Minegishi." Said Hatori

"I do care, I mean about you, but I trust Miss Suzuki and I trust that she can take care of you. She knows you and she knows what to do." Said Serizawa. Hatori touched his face. Some blood came away. It was red against his hand.

"Oh. You're talking about me….I'm talking about Mob….about Little Sister-sama, about her and Shimazaki…just…how can you be so ok with him? With him being around her? Don't you worry about Mob?" asked Hatori. He felt, sometimes, like he was the crazy one here….even if he knew that he wasn't. It wasn't crazy to worry about this…right? Right?

"I worry about the things that Miss Suzuki says are worth worrying about, otherwise I'd be worrying about everything every second of every day…and that wouldn't leave me a lot of time to do other things…not that I'm doing anything important but it just…it makes me tired, you know, worrying about every single thing. Miss Suzuki knows what is and is not worth worrying about…like, um, she's worried about how President Suzuki is going to be mad at her because of all the things she's giving the Awakened. Like how she's letting them have more breaks and more money and…and he doesn't like it when she does nice things for people. I don't understand why, it's good to be nice to people, but…but she says that the President is a very difficult person to understand." Said Serizawa

"Yeah…he kind of is…" said Hatori. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. That could only be one person. The only other people who ever texted him were in this house…unless it was a work thing…but he'd blocked all of that work stuff for now. He didn't want to deal with any of that right now…he didn't even want to deal with this right now…

He had to deal with this.

'Where are you?' Not even a 'hello' or a 'hi' or…well he didn't know what else to expect from Touichirou. He was all business when it came to work…and this was an important time. It was the kind of thing that consumed him, even though he had a kid who needed him. Mob. Mob was the kid who needed him. She wasn't safe here, and she wasn't ok, even if she thought that she was…but of course he wasn't going to see that. He only saw what he wanted to see.

'With Mob. Shimazaki beat me up.' said Hatori. Three dots. Serizawa was leaning forwards to see his phone. Hatori glanced up over his glasses, through the space where everything became blurry and distorted. Serizawa immediately leaned back.

'Did you antagonize him?' Hatori's thumbs hovered over his phone screen. Technically he had…but that shouldn't have influenced what Touichirou did or didn't do. Shimazaki had still beaten up one of is kids, that should have been enough to get him put in a traitor hole, the deepest they had, or at least enough to get the shit kicked out of him…probably not enough to get him executed. Sleeping with Mob hadn't even been enough to get him executed and that was the worst thing that Hatori could even imagine…and he'd seen some really fucked up shit in his life.

'I tried to beat him up for what he did to Shigeko, but he beat me up first.' Three dots again. As fast as they appeared they disappeared.

'I need to teach you how to pick a fight.' That was all…that was all the he could even think of…that was all the he could even…Hatori's screen went black. He put it down on the bathroom counter. He couldn't hold it anymore, he couldn't be near it, if he was then he was going to end up losing it…he was going to end up breaking it…he was going to end up doing something that he was going to regret later. Touichirou had said, before, that the worst thing a man could have in life were regrets. Regrets were the kind of thing that held your life back, that kept you up at night, that kept you thinking about could have beens and would have beens…and since there was no way to change the past that kind of rumination, like all kinds of rumination, was inefficient.

Touichirou hated inefficiency…more than he hated guys who slept with his daughter…or beat up his son.

"Are…are you ok? I mean it doesn't look like you're ok but I'm not always the best judge of if people are and are not ok and…and I just…I'm just worried about you, that's all…and Miss Suzuki isn't here to tell me if you're ok or not…" said Serizawa

"I'm not…I'm not ok, but of course Mob isn't going to be able to tell…" said Hatori

"I-I think that if you told Miss Suzuki what was wrong then she'd help you." said Serizawa

"She wouldn't because she doesn't get it…just….promise me you'll look after her, ok? While I'm not here." Said Hatori

"What do you mean?" asked Serizawa

"Just make sure no guys go near her, ok? Keep Shimazaki away from her and that Joseph guy and any other guy our age who wants to come near her, ok? Promise me that, as a friend?" asked Hatori

"I can…I can try, if you want me to…since we're friends. But Miss Suzuki and I are friends too-" said Serizawa

"Yeah, well Mob's thirteen and she needs someone to take care of her and nobody else is going to do it so I need you to, ok? She trusts you and shit so, yeah, keep her safe." Said Hatori

"I can try…I mean I can-" said Serizawa

"I forgot to refill the ice so I had to make it myself…it was hard, I wish I had asked Dad how to do it when I had the chance but, here, we have ice. To make it feel better." said Mob as she pressed a plastic bag full of ice to his face. It was so cold that it stung…but he could live with that. He didn't run away, he didn't freak out, and he didn't freak her out. He acted like an adult…the adult that he was.

The adult that nobody treated him like.

He was going to be twenty three that year. He was a grown man and it was time that he acted like it, like Touichirou had said. Time to grow up. Growing up didn't just mean not freaking out, not running off and hiding, and not screaming whenever you got mad or sad or glad or whatever. Being an adult meant putting other people first, and that was what he was going to do. He may not have been able to beat the shit out of Shimazaki but he could at least have someone who could, even if he didn't want to, stay by Mob's side and keep her safe…which was the best that he could honestly do right now…just have someone else take care of her while he sat there and had a bag of ice shoved in his face.

It was cold, and it stung, but at least it wasn't iodine.