Suzuki Touichirou had never had a problem with delegation, despite what Tadashi thought.
It was true what they said, if you wanted something done right you had to do it yourself, so that was what he did. When he absolutely needed something done right then he took care of the matter himself. When he needed something done adequately, however, he had no qualms delegating the task to someone else. Usually Tadashi, he generally did very good work despite some…recent emotional entanglements between the two of them. It should have come at no surprise to Suzuki that Tadashi had no only found Shiori but come up with a good rescue plan.
No, Tadashi's competence had been proven time and time again. Sho's on the other hand…well, this was wholly unexpected.
"…and that's the plan, ok? If you don't want to help then you can get the fuck out of here." Said Sho, pointing to the pile of papers that Suzuki had been handed upon his arrival. Smart, very smart, considering how easy it was to get into a computer system. Sho's handwriting was still terrible but these diagrams were, of course, impeccable. They had been drawn by Sho after all.
He is, was, and always had been quite artistically gifted.
"How accurate are these plans?" asked Suzuki as he turned the page. Level two…so you could build underground. Tadashi had always been weary of tunnels, with Japan being as earthquake prone as it was, and Suzuki had always listened. He had lived through several earthquakes and, yes, they had terrified him as a child…but this was…extensive. A network of tunnels right under his feet, right in the middle of the countryside…though they were in the north, perhaps the latitude….he'd have the structural engineers deal with it later.
Afterall, this place would be his soon. Right after he reclaimed what was his from within it.
"I don't know…accurate? Shimazaki did the scouting and this was what he could feel but…I don't know, there's a lot of curse rooms…if you don't trust me then you can go and figure out your own plan and do it on your own!" said Sho. He reached over and tried to pull the stack of papers away. Suzuki held him back with a flick of his wrist. Sho resisted…the boy was getting stronger…though he was still nothing compared to what Suzuki had been at his age.
A pity.
"It's not that I distrust you, quite the contrary. You've impressed me greatly." Suzuki
"Don't lie to me." said Sho
"When have I ever lied to you?" asked Suzuki
"Well I wouldn't fucking know, would I Dad, because you lied." Said Sho
"No….I suppose that you wouldn't know…but I have never been false with you. I haven't had the need. I don't have time to sit around thinking of falsehoods to tell people, let alone my own offspring." Said Suzuki
"Right. You're just such a great guy that you've never told one single lie in your entire life." said Sho. Suzuki had to think…he couldn't remember lying, not any time recently. When he had been young, of course, in an effort to avoid the wrath of his parents…but not as a man and never to his son. What would have been the point? He may not have needed to get along with Sho but he did need his trust and respect…what little respect he was capable of. The last thing he needed was what little bond they had as parent and child falling apart. That was how coups started and the last thing he needed was his son starting some kind of coup.
He might have even had it in him…if he was capable of planning things on this scale….
"I have lied, but never to you. There would have been no point to it. Now stop this and accept the compliment. You've done good work here. You truly are my son." Said Suzuki. That should have been a good thing. He could remember the times, the few and far between times, when Father had praised him. After a particularly good kendo match, whenever he set an academic record, the time he'd caught an accounting error in the end of year report Father had given him to look over…most of the time Father had shown his approval monetarily. Increases in his allowance, trips to the store, some new piece of technology for the house…
Suzuki had always appreciated the verbal praise more.
But Sho, apparently, did not. The table shook. Sho's doing. First the table and then the room. Honestly. Suzuki had no idea what any of this was but they did not have time to deal with this. These outbursts…another pity. Sho was more like him than he had ever wanted….and at the same time nothing like him at all.
A mystery.
"What…what the…don't lie to me! You're lying and you're just going to-to tell me that I fucked up again and-" said Sho
"I will do no such-" said Suzuki. He would have said no such thing, of course, since he was well past the point of speaking in that way. He never had, actually, even when he had been Sho's age and that had been the thing to do. Mother and Father had never allowed it and, despite being as powerful as he was, he had still obeyed them. Respected them. Acted in the way that he knew they wanted…Sho, of course, had no respect for him.
Neither of his children with Masami did.
"What's happening in here?" asked Shigeko as she slid the door opened. She had been there the whole time, hovering just on the other side of the door, he had been able to both sense her and see her shadow through the paper of the sliding door. Not a lot of privacy in these old, country houses. That was why he had never bought them, he didn't care for them. He didn't care for this, either. Shigeko's aura was held protectively against herself, a contrast to Sho's aura which looked like he was getting ready for a fight…
He wondered what Mukai was up to, she was much more agreeable than these two.
"Sho?" asked Shigeko as she crossed the room. She looked away from him, she seemed to be making a point of it, as she made her way to her brother. He had no idea why. He didn't look nearly as terrible as he'd looked in the past. He'd showered, shaved, and gotten dressed properly for the day. There was no point in greeting his people looking like a wreck. He still had to inspire confidence in those who followed him…despite whatever emotions he had brewing inside of himself. Emotions that he had to exorcise or…what was it that the ice queen said?
Conceal, don't feel. Don't let it show.
"Dad's being an asshole again, that's all…I'm fine. I'm going to go and…do stuff, I guess. Stuff in the other room. The one that's really far away and shit." Said Sho. Shigeko reached out a hand but Sho just walked past her. Unlike Shigeko his eyes never left Suzuki as he walked past…a bit like he was assessing a threat. Suzuki must have been wrong, of course, because there was not threat for Sho to be assessing in the first place.
It wasn't as though he was going to hurt the boy, he didn't even have cause to. Sho had done good work here.
"Ok…but try and get some rest. The plan is going to happen soon and it's kind of…you aren't listening to me at all." Said Shigeko. She was right, of course. Sho just walked right past the two of them and slammed the door behind himself. The room shook again…he was not a fan of these house at all. Too flimsy, too big, too difficult to defend.
He'd have to find a better place, after this, to hide Shiori.
"No he is not, but that doesn't matter. We are decided on a plan and as soon as Tadashi is done looking everyone over the time will come. Sho's got it all written down here." Said Suzuki. Shigeko nodded, her eyes still not meeting his. They had chosen a spot on the table, a spot like any other, and they stood fixed there. He didn't understand her, but then again he had never been the best at understanding women. He'd have his hands full trying to understand Shiori after this. She had so no so many times to the domed city, or even just a safe house, but now…now there wasn't any room for argument. She had been captured. She would spend the rest of her life at least under twenty four hour guard just to make sure it never happened again…but she would never go for that…
Women. Never in his life, even if he lived to be a hundred years old, would he understand women.
"It really is a good plan, Dad, you should give Sho a chance." Said Shigeko
"I…don't know what you mean." Said Suzuki. He had let Sho have the freedom to set up this whole plan and team. What more of a chance did the boy need? He had already proven himself…both of the children had proven themselves to be competent.
"Dad…come on. You know what I'm talking about. I mean you don't always know what I mean but you've got to know what I'm talking about." Said Shigeko
"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about." Said Suzuki. Women. Why did they always assume that you knew what it was that they were going on about? Women understood other women, men understood other men, and when you got down to it homosexuals had the right idea. Since the world wouldn't survive if everyone in it was a homosexual men and women were just going to have to work harder at understanding each other, or maybe women were just going to have to work harder at making themselves understood…
He missed the days when Shigeko had been a child, not a woman, and someone he could understand.
"I mean that you shouldn't be mean to Sho like that. He worked really hard on this and he cares a lot about Shiori, too." Said Shigeko
"I never argued with either of those facts. Sho has come up with a very good plan and, obviously, he cares for Shiori." Said Suzuki. What was Shigeko even going on about? If he didn't care for her than he wouldn't have put forth so much effort into not only coming up with this plan but also gathering the right people for the job, delegating their jobs to them, and the million other things that went into leading a group of people as he had.
Of course, he cared for Shiori…though Sho…why he cared for her he didn't understand.
Well, he did understand, Shiori was a wonderful woman, perhaps the greatest woman to ever live. She was intelligent, caring, simple, understanding, and had a wealth of interesting fish and garden related knowledge. She knew a lot about cats too but Suzuki didn't really care about them. Sho did, though, and maybe that was it…he didn't know for sure. The boy was so confusing, impossible to understand…
Nearly as complicated as Shigeko.
"Then why were you being mean to him?" asked Shigeko
"I did nothing of the sort. I simply told him that I was proud of him, which I am. Why he chose to take offense to that I will never know." said Suzuki
"Were you really proud of him or were you just saying that to be mean?" asked Shigeko
"I was being completely honest. What is your obsession, you and your brother's, with this idea that I'm being disingenuous? When have I ever been disingenuous towards either of you? When I am proud of you two then I tell you that I am proud and when I am ashamed of you then I will tell you when I am ashamed of you." said Suzuki
"You…you can be mean sometimes, that's all…and you've been the meanest to Sho." said Shigeko
"I have been….but he has given me cause to be unkind to him, as have you." said Suzuki
"…why do you have to be like that?" asked Shigeko. She wiped her eyes, there, despite the fact that she had nothing to be upset about. That was what that was, maybe, perhaps. Tadashi was better at identifying emotions than he had ever been…Shiori, too. She would have told him what Shigeko was feeling and what he was supposed to do about it…things would have been so much easier if she had been there.
He'd have her back soon enough.
"Like what?" asked Suzuki. Shiori wasn't here so, for the time being, he was going to have to figure out what he was supposed to do with her right now. Tadashi was better with emotions than he was but Shigeko and Tadashi didn't get along…and also he and Tadashi…things were complex between them. He had been in an emotional freefall, the only word for it, since Shiori had been kidnapped…and now…he should have felt better. He should have been ready to go out and save her, that should have been the only thought in his mind, but Shigeko…she was taking up so much of his mental space right now…
Both of the children…Mukai, too, to a lesser extent…he did care for her.
"Mean to us! We both worked hard, I mean Sho did, and…and this is all for you and your girlfriend and…and you still don't like us…" said Shigeko
"I…am not always fond of the choices you make…but I wouldn't go as far as to say that I dislike you. Sho, perhaps, because he has been just…so…himself, and you at times but…but in general, I suppose…can we please talk about something else?" asked Suzuki. He didn't dislike his children…all the time. There were times when he wished that he had others, times when he wished he knew what mistakes he'd made, times that he wished he could have gone back in time and changed the people that they had become but he didn't dislike them…well Sho, at times, and Shigeko…but…he could have others so it didn't matter how he felt about these…and he would be having others.
Maybe the next son and daughter he had would turn out better than these…or maybe just the next son he had. Mukai was already a wonderful child.
"Yeah…I guess….I don't know, Dad, I just…can you please just leave Sho alone? After this can you just go back to wherever you were and just leave me and Sho alone? You don't love us, anymore, anyway so-" said Shigeko
"I care for both of you, don't ever think that I don't." said Suzuki. Not this again…Shigeko's aura flared, there. Her eyes narrowed. Honestly. These children….what was it about being thirteen that made a person that dramatic?
"You said that you hated the person that I'm becoming, and you've been mean to Sho since…since as long as I can remember…" said Shigeko
"I...have made statements to that affect…but that doesn't mean that I don't care for you. if I didn't care for you, as I have said many times before, then I would have abandoned you both. You are my children and I care for you…to different extents…but I do care for you." said Suzuki
"I…I know what you said, before, but it just…it hurts us, Dad, I said it before and you just won't listen. I just want…" said Shigeko. She was nearly whispering, now, and he had to lean in close to hear her. She wanted something…he could do this. He could give her what she wanted.
"What do you want?" asked Suzuki. Finally, something that he could work with. Whatever she wanted he would get her…so long as it was something that he wanted to deal with. If she told him that he wanted to marry Shimazaki Ryou, thankfully he had enough sense to give Suzuki a wide berth, then he would have had to say 'no' but to anything else he would have said 'yes'.
She was his daughter, no matter what age she was Shigeko was his daughter, and he did care for her and her happiness.
"I just want you to be nice…to be nice to us or at least not mean." Said Shigeko softly. So softly, actually, that he had some trouble hearing her…he must have been getting old. Mortality was…it was mortality. Something that he didn't want to confront right now…
The only thing he wanted to confront right now were the people who kidnapped his Shiori…after that then…then at some point he could deal with his offspring and their various baseless complaints.
"I was being nice to your brother, and I am being nice to you. Both of you have proven yourselves to both be very competent in your respective fields of work and I am truly proud, at this point in time, to be your father. Excuse me." said Suzuki as he got up. That was all he had to say. There was…inside of him he had the urge to leave…so he did. He got up, opened the door, and left. He may have shut it a bit too hard, the room shook…or that may have been his own loss of control.
It didn't matter.
He didn't have time to deal with he children and their various complaints. He had a plan, Sho's plan, and soon he would have Shiori back and then all would be right with the world. His children thought that he didn't care for them…but he could always have more children. He would have more children. He and Shiori would create life, one together and more children, together…he just had to get her back…and he would.
He would get her back, this was not something that he would delegate, not even to his children…despite their unusual level of competence.