Suzuki Touichirou had never attached any sort of significance to his birthday.
Not since he had been a small child, anyway. Back when the idea of gifts had been an exciting one. Back before he had his own income and ability to procure whatever it was that he needed. Back when he had still played with toys, collected videogames, read manga. Back when he had been a child. Birthdays were really more of a child's game, something to celebrate when you hadn't seen nearly fifty of them.
Forty-seven to be exact.
He'd been through this forty seven times already. He'd awake, take stock of the fact that he was a year older, and then join his family for whatever they'd had planned. Mother had always made his favorite for breakfast, an omelet with ketchup, and in the ketchup she would write something along the lines of 'happy birthday Touichirou'. Father, on the rare occasion he was home, would offer him some congratulations on surviving another year. Almost as if his father hadn't expected him to survive. Looking back now, with the experience of being a father himself, and knowing that his father had lost every sibling he'd ever had before he had even been born, it could have been understandable. Suzuki was old enough to know, now, how short life was. How precious. How tenuous.
Forty seven years.
He'd outlived his father and mother some time ago. Forty seven years. He looked up at the ceiling above him. He had lived longer than this building had stood. Forty seven years. He'd had forty seven birthdays before but none had hit him like this…at all. There had been milestone birthdays, of course. Turning seven had brought primary school, turning thirteen had brought middle school, turning sixteen had brought high school, and turning eighteen had brought the death of his parents. Also university but the death of his parents had been more…impactful. If they hadn't died, if he hadn't killed them, if he hadn't lost control then he wouldn't have been able to accomplish anything close to this. To Claw. To the wealth he'd gathered from what had been left to him by his father. The freedom they'd given him by dying…
They had never wanted this for him.
That was what the fight, the argument, the discussion had been about all of those years ago. Father and Mother had made their opinions on his plans quite clear. They were unrealistic. They were childish. They were completely insane. Nobody could rule the world. Even if there had been other people in the world like him it wasn't as though they'd follow him. The entire thing, they had said, was just some game that he and Fukuda had thought up. He was too old, they had said, and anyway it wasn't as though there even were other people in the world like him….that had been the thing that had set off…the chain of events that had brought him to where he was today.
In this apartment.
One of many that he owned. He owned more property than his father ever had, more wealth, and had more children. He had done so much better in forty seven years. There was a sort of…he didn't even know what it was that he was feeling right now. He exorcised these emotions as best he could. It had been easier, before, but now…it was less easy. Or maybe more difficult. He wasn't sure what the word would have been. Emotions had never come easy for him. Father had always told him that emotions were a woman's game, they felt things more than men did, and the best thing to do was leave them to their emotions. Suzuki knew that a loss of face wasn't the worst thing that would come from letting his emotions control him.
The blinds opened.
He hadn't meant to do that. Forty seven years and he was still losing control. Maybe he would have it down by forty eight…or forty nine. Maybe even fifty. He wished that he knew. Then he would have had something to tell Shigeko. Her control was no better than his. She had found…other methods. Ones which he didn't approve of. Ones which it didn't matter if he approved of. She was going to do whatever she wanted to do. Even if he didn't agree with them, even if he knew it was bad for her, even if…it didn't matter what that 'if' was. She had proved that she thought that she was old enough to make her own decisions. Who was he to tell her what to do? He was only her father after all. He had power over her but…but he didn't. He did and he didn't. He wasn't his father. He wasn't going to control every aspect of his children's lives just because he thought he knew what was the correct course of action…well he did…but he didn't.
He was only himself.
He rolled onto his side. He was a person onto himself. He could only speak for his life, his own good, and not his children's. His father and mother had tried to speak for him, to tell what his life was going to be, and…and that was why they weren't here today. Mother wasn't in the kitchen waiting to serve him his birthday omelet and Father wasn't there to pat him on the head and congratulate him for living another year. He wouldn't have needed them to, anyway. He was forty seven years old now. He was old enough that birthdays meant nothing. Even if they had been living they would have been too old, perhaps, to even acknowledge his birthday.
He didn't need his birthday acknowledged.
He reached out for his phone. He knew that it didn't matter what he wanted, his birthday would be acknowledged. By Shigeko, of course, Sho didn't care for such things. He took after Suzuki in that regard, and Father as well. In some ways he took after Mother. The fits of emotion, the love of art, the color of his hair and eyes. Had Mother been alive she would have been proud of Sho. Of course she wouldn't have approved of Shigeko, neither of his parents…but Shigeko wasn't the type to need someone's approval. She took after him in that regard. She didn't share a drop of blood with him but she took after him in so many ways. Mother, too, which was even odder. She always made such a big deal out of birthdays. He knew what was waiting for him. A message begging in to come home to some party that she had thrown him, to open some gift that she had gotten him, some celebrating that she'd planned for him. He knew that if he opened his phone he would have to think of something to say, some way to rebuff her without alienating her. He just had too much to do.
Messaging her was not on that list.
Nothing from her. He had messages, yes, but not from her. Mukai had sent him a picture of a birthday cake, what looked like a cat's eye, and some sort of abstract drawing. Shiori had sent him a message requesting his presence. Aside from that there was nothing at all from Shigeko. Nothing from Tadashi either but that…that didn't matter. It wouldn't have been like him to say anything. Shigeko on the other hand…this was very out of character for her. Something was wrong. He sat up. The lights flickered on and off. Something must have been very wrong. She could have been hurt or dead or worse. He swung his legs over and got out of bed. He needed to get to her, to save her, not that he knew what he was saving her from…
Considering that this was Shigeko it could have been literally anything.
He got up so quickly his head spun and his back ached. He didn't have time to contemplate the ailments of his coming old age. Shigeko needed him. He strode to the door in a way that did nothing for the agitation happening in his back. He could deal with that later, or pass out from the agony, whichever came first. Shigeko needed him. She was so…he didn't think that she was unintelligent…but she did make terrible choices. When it came to her wellbeing, when it came to men, when it came to pretty much every aspect of her life. She needed him. She needed him to save him. He threw the door opened.
And stopped.
"Uh…happy birthday?" said Hatori as he held out a festive bag an arm's length away from him. Suzuki moved him off to the side with his powers. They had nearly collided. He didn't have time to have his birthday acknowledged. He could open whatever new shirt he'd received this year another time. Right now his child needed him. Even if she didn't think that she was a child, even if she thought that she was ready to live her entire life on her own terms, she was still so small and weak and helpless and he was still her father.
It was his job to keep protect her, to keep her safe, and he was not going to fail.
"Nozomu, get a plane ready, we're going back to Japan." Said Suzuki as he strode past. He didn't care that he wasn't dressed or in any way ready to greet the world. He could make himself presentable on the plane. Shigeko needed him. He had no idea what was happening but he knew that time was of the essence. The floor shook behind him. Hatori was rushing to keep up.
He stopped. He had been moving much too quickly, hadn't he?
"We're going after that spirit? Because if we are I just think that, uh, I might be better off anywhere else. I mean I can't exorcise spirits. I can barely see them. I'm more of an indoor kind of person-" said Hatori
"Then stay indoors and do as I ask of you. Honestly. Can I please have one child who knows the meaning of the word obedience?" asked Suzuki
"I-I'm doing it right now!" said Hatori as he pulled his own phone out of the front pocket of that terrible hooded sweatshirt he was wearing. Suzuki made a mental note to destroy that thing before anyone else could see it, but later, once this crisis had passed. Once he knew what this crisis even was.
"There's a plane coming and they can land in Osaka at-" said Hatori
"Shigeko's in Osaka? Why?" asked Suzuki
"No…Shiori is. I mean I figured that she was the one you were freaking out about. I mean I figured that she wanted to see you today-not that I was going through your messages or anything!" Said Hatori
"I know that you weren't. You know better than that." Said Suzuki
"Um…yeah. I've never done that before. I just…thought that it was Mob that you were freaking out about, that's all." Said Hatori
"I am not and was not 'freaking out'. I am not panicked in any way. Shigeko may just be in mortal danger right now, that's all, and she needs me. Now figure out where in the world she is and the fastest way to get me there. Now." said Suzuki. Hatori nodded and looked back down at his phone. Suzuki watched his aura. He only knew the most rudimentary of facial expressions. Auras were so much simpler…though Hatori had never had much of one and most of what he had was pouring into his phone. If only he had spent more time learning his aura, if only he had spent more time focusing on Shigeko's wellbeing, if only he had…there was no point in wondering 'if only'. Shigeko needed him and it didn't matter where she was or what horrors had befallen her. He would be there for her no matter what she had done this time.
"Mob's-" said Hatori
"Where is Shigeko?" asked Suzuki
"Uh, I think that she's-" said Hatori, rubbing the back of his head as though he were trying to manually stimulate his brain. Suzuki didn't have time for anything like that.
"I don't care what you think, I care about what you know. Now, where is Shigeko." Said Suzuki
"-in Tokyo. She's having pancakes. See?" said Hatori. He turned his phone to face Suzuki. Yes, that was Shigeko's photo-whatever account, and yes those were bright pink pancakes on the plate in front of her. He swiped to the next photo. There were the others with her. Sho, Mukai, her friends…Matsuo for some reason. That wasn't right. He should have been in pursuit of the spirit. It was going to be a valuable asset in the coming battle for the world. Shigeko should not have been distracting him…and she should not have distracted herself, either.
She had work to do.
"I think she's fine. I mean I told her a million times already to at least set her stuff to private…hang on." Said Hatori. He blinked and something must have happened, though Suzuki had no idea what. It didn't matter. Shigeko was in no danger. He had rushed out of bed for nothing. He had left his room dressed only in an undershirt and flannel pants for nothing. He had put his back into some kind of muscle based agony for nothing.
Some birthday this was shaping up to be.
"She's fine. I mean I think she is. I didn't talk to her or anything-" said Hatori
"Don't." said Suzuki
"Are you sure? You were really freaked out back there." Said Hatori
"I wasn't 'freaked out'. I wasn't anything…anything but concerned. Shigeko has never been one to exercise good judgement when it comes to her own life and I thought….never mind what I thought. My thoughts did not line up with the reality of the situation and therefore they are irrelevant. Forget I said anything." Said Suzuki
"But-" said Hatori
"Nozomu. What did I just say?" asked Suzuki
"Right. Forgetting what you just said…uh…anyway! Happy birthday, I guess." said Hatori as he, once again, held out the bag in his hand. Suzuki took it and moved the newspaper to the side. Tissue paper was traditional, Shigeko always chose a very colorful sort, but Suzuki didn't care. He was forty seven years old, well past the point of caring of gifts. He didn't even care that he had gotten-
-another shirt.
It was a soft thing, red, with a scene from Centipede on the front. Tadashi had cared more for that game than he did. It had been more difficult to lose himself in. Often during Space Invaders, or even Asteroids, he had passed the time fantasizing about being some savior of the universe until he lost himself so thoroughly in what he was doing that the hours just slipped by. That had been, of course, during his childhood. His adolescence. He had gotten past such things by the time he made it to adulthood. Tadashi had as well. This would have been better for him. The size, if not the content, of the shirt. He was mort partial to cotton as well-
-it didn't matter what Tadashi would have thought…what he would have wanted.
"Thank you." said Suzuki. That was what a person was meant to say when they received a gift, even one that was unwanted. Unneeded. He didn't need anything from anyone. Not any gifts or even acknowledgement. Shigeko had her own life she was living and he didn't need…there was a pain that he didn't understand…but he seldom understood these sorts of things. His understanding didn't matter. Nothing mattered when it came to emotions.
It was actions that mattered.
"You're welcome and happy birthday again. Do you want to do anything special? We could play-" said Hatori
"There's no time for any of that. When will the plane be prepared?" asked Suzuki
"You still want to go to Tokyo? But Mob's fine." Said Hatori
"It's not Tokyo I need to go to and it's not Shigeko I need to see. You said the plane was going to Osaka, correct?" asked Suzuki
"It can go there, yeah." Said Hatori
"Good, then that is what our…my destination will be. You can visit Shigeko or go wherever you want. Just don't act as me. We don't need a repeat of that debacle." Said Suzuki
"…wasn't that bad…" muttered Hatori, looking down at his socks. They were gaudy and completely harsh on the eyes but they didn't command that much attention. Suzuki didn't care. He didn't care about anything or anyone…anyone aside from Shiori…but that made sense. She had taken the time to acknowledge his birthday, not that it mattered, not that he cared a thing for sentimentality…it was just…something pleasant. She was going to be his wife. Of course he wanted to see her. Of course he was touched that she had remembered his birthday. Not like Shigeko or Tadashi-
He didn't care Tadashi did and did not remember.
"Yes it was, now do as I ask. I have to get dressed for the day and so should you. Neither of us can be see in our current states." Said Suzuki as he turned around all too quickly. His back was still in the midst of a protest. Tadashi would have been able to repair the damage but Tadashi wasn't there. That didn't matter. Shigeko would have cared, too, but she…she was too busy eating pancakes and busying his best people with her nonsense to acknowledge the day he father was born…but that didn't matter either. Nothing mattered, none of it. It was just his birthday, just another day.
He had never cared for birthdays before, never attached any sort of significance to them before, and he wasn't going to start now. It had been forty-seven years, he'd lived through forty-seven of these already. There was no point in starting now.