Somethings never changed.

"Hatori! Catch!" said Shimazaki as he threw something at Hatori's head. He'd made it three steps into the house before Shimazaki was tormenting him. A new record. He dodged whatever the hell that had been by heading right to the ground…and into something sticky. This was the genkan. It could have been literally anything.

He was afraid to look.

"Look what you did." Said Shimazaki as he teleported beside Hatori. He pulled Hatori to his feet and pointed to….a squished pile of clay? He looked down at his pants. At least that red wasn't blood or anything else mysterious, gross, and generally best left alone. That was something that he hadn't missed about the house, about living with his friends…coworkers. People he was forced to live with through Mob.

There were a lot of things, actually, that he didn't miss about living here.

"Seriously. Do you have any idea how hard Mukai worked on that? She sat on the floor for hours and hours molding clay until it was absolutely perfect. Her blood, sweat, and tears went into that…whatever the hell it was. You just came right in and destroyed it. For shame." Said Shimazaki with a click of his tongue and a shake of his head.

"I-I-I didn't do anything! You're the one who threw whatever the hell that was at me!" said Hatori

"It was a dog biscuit." Said Shimazaki

"Ok, fine, you're the one who threw the dog biscuit at me." said Hatori

"Yes, yes I did." Said Shimazaki. There was a pause there, a moment of silence in which only the TV could be heard. Shimazaki was staring at him with his aura, like he expected him to say something. Hatori hadn't missed this at all. Living with Suzuki was, somehow, a thousand times easier than living here. Even with the constant attempts on their lives.

He had to do what he had to do.

"Why?" asked Hatori, assuming that was the bate he was supposed to take.

"Why what?" asked Shimazaki

"Why what…are you drunk right now?" asked Hatori. Shimazaki, surprisingly, shook his head.

"Not at the moment. Stone cold sober…not a good feeling, not a good feeling at all." Said Shimazaki

"Then why don't you leave me alone and go get drunk or whatever the hell it is you do." Said Hatori. If Suzuki had been there he would have told Shimazaki exactly what he thought of him…but Suzuki wasn't there. He was there, alone…well, not truly alone. He could sense Mob somewhere near. She kind of eclipsed the others but he knew that they must have been home. He could have pulled his phone out of his pocket and checked but now did not seem to be the time to be making sudden movements. Shimazaki may have been acting like a kid right now, like a morn, but he wasn't…well, he kind of was, but a dangerous and vicious moron.

Nothing good ever came of provoking Shimazaki.

"Mob says that everyone's got to be one hundred percent right now…and I don't blame her. That thing is…it's pretty fucked up. Whatever the hell that was." Said Shimazaki

"You're pretty fucked up." said Hatori. He took a step back as soon as he realized what he'd said. He was alone right now. Even surrounded by the auras of the others he could feel how painfully alone he was…and he could see how much bigger Shimazaki was than him. He had no chance if Shimazaki decided to fight him or just teleport him into the middle of the bay or high up in the sky and just…just…

He should have gone with to Osaka.

"Not going to argue with you there." Said Shimazaki

"Ok…can you leave me alone, then?" asked Hatori as he slipped his shoes off. Shimazaki shook his head.

"Can't." said Shimazaki

"Why?" asked Hatori

"Because." Said Shimazaki

"Because why?" asked Hatori

"Because, because." Said Shimazaki

"Because, because why?" asked Hatori. He kept his voice level. He wasn't going to lose it, not here, not when Suzuki wasn't anywhere close enough to protect him. Maybe he should have just told Mob that he was busy, that he was needed in Osaka even though he wasn't, or some other excuse to keep him away from here…no, that would have been wrong. He wasn't going to lie to Mob like that. He wasn't going to lie to his friend.

Friend and sister, he reminded himself. Friend and little sister.

"Because, because, because-" said Shimazaki, counting every time he said because on his fingers like a little kid. He did shit like this to piss Hatori off, he knew it, the whole damn world knew it. Hatori, if he had been a stronger esper, or just dumber would have told Shimazaki to shut his mouth and let him through. Hadn't he pissed off enough people already? Hadn't he done enough?

Obviously not.

"Ryou, come on. Can't you just leave him alone? We have enough on our plates as it is." Said Minegishi, their voice carrying through the house. He heard them before he sensed them and he sensed them before he saw them. Their hair was longer, they were wearing some kind of weird glow in the dark t-shirt, and they looked just as pissed as they had when he'd left. Just as pretty, in their own way, as they had too…not that he was looking. He knew better than to look at them.

He looked down at his phone. Much safer.

Everyone was home. If he focused he could…yeah, of course everyone was home. It was the middle of the night. He didn't know what he had been expecting. Something more…chaos-y, maybe. Mob had sounded pretty desperate before when she'd called him. Something about a dangerous spirit, her friend going missing, and a hell of a lot of stuff he was sworn to secrecy about. Suzuki couldn't know that Mob was going after this spirit. He wanted to tell Suzuki, of course, this thing was dangerous based on all the mission reports he'd read but he also wanted Mob to trust him. Maybe if she had trusted him more then she would have come to him, or someone, before she and Shimazaki had done…all of that unspeakable shit that they'd done.

Hatori wished that he'd been a stronger esper. He knew that he had no way to fight Shimazaki but it would have felt good to at least get a hit or two in.

"I can't. Without my dog Hatori's going to have to fill in as my emotional support pet." Said Shimazaki. Hatori bent over and picked up the dog biscuit that had been thrown at him. There was a dog around here? He shuddered, remembering the time Mob had tried to turn their houses into a cat shelter…and then his mind went to Sho and his hamster city.

"So go and get it." Said Minegishi

"I can't. He's hiding." Said Shimazaki

"So use your powers to find him." Said Minegishi

"That would be cheating and I would never cheat a dog. They're man's best friend after all and I would never cheat my best friend." Said Shimazaki. Minegishi rolled their eyes.

"You're ridiculous." Said Minegishi

"That's why you love me, right Toshi?" asked Shimazaki

"I tolerate you, Ryou, let's leave it at that." Said Minegishi. They were smiling a little bit, just a little. Hatori felt like he was in the middle of something that he shouldn't have been anywhere near. He was no stranger to being where he shouldn't have been and seeing things that he shouldn't have seen but there was a difference between scrolling through confidential Claw files and being right there. He looked past Minegishi. He needed to get to his room and just wait for either Mob to come and talk to him or tomorrow to happen. That is if he even had a room…he was probably going to have to share with Serizawa.

Not a fun prospect but better than sharing with Shimazaki.

"You love me." said Shimazaki

"I live with you." said Minegishi

"Well, I love you, Toshi, but I'm not going to smother you or anything like that." Said Shimazaki

"Wow. You really know how to make me feel special, Ryou, you know that?" asked Minegishi

"I try." Said Shimazaki. Hatori tried to take a step around him. Yeah…this was not the place for him. He had no idea if they were getting back together or what but he knew that this was one of those things that was none of his business. If he had been Minegishi he would have completely cut Shimazaki off after what he did but, of course, that wasn't Hatori's call. No matter how much power he had in Claw now, being Suzuki's son, there were some things that were beyond him.

He hated it.

What was the point of having all of this power if he couldn't use it? What Shimazaki had done was wrong and it was amazing that he was even still alive. Suzuki could be so weird when it came to his kids sometimes. Hatori would have, if he could have, banished Shimazaki or had him killed or…or something like that. Something that he knew was never going to happen. The best he could do right now was get away from him. Just walk away.

Some things were easier said, and thought, than done.

"I hope you're not planning on going to bed anytime soon." Said Minegishi as Hatori left the genkan. Shimazaki threw another dog treat at him before teleporting away to wherever he went when he realized he wasn't wanted or needed.

"Uh, no…I mean I was going to my room but if you guys need me awake for something I'm not planning on going to sleep. Mob didn't really give me any kind of plan or timeline for what she wanted or needed or-" said Hatori

"Who said you had a room?" asked Minegishi

"I figured I'd end up sharing with Serizawa." Said Hatori quickly. Minegishi was looking at him, now, like they wanted to kill him. The ferns in the hallway shuddered. He could practically see their aura. He took a step away from them. He knew that their control was good, and they weren't the kind of person who started things for no reason, but obviously he had pushed some kind of button…it was so much easier hanging out with Suzuki. At least he knew what his buttons were. So long as you agreed with most of what he said, watched your mouth as best as you could, and didn't ask him too many follow up questions when he felt like talking at you then you were fine. Somehow Suzuki was less likely to explode than all of Hatori's friends.

If he could call them that. Coworking roommates maybe fit better.

"Did I…do something?" asked Hatori

"No. You're completely…you're fine. I mean you're not involved in whatever the hell is going on with…I don't want to talk about this right now. I have enough on my plate as it is without having to explain all of this to you." said Minegishi

"Ok, so I'll just-" said Hatori

"There isn't enough room here for you. Not unless you want to either stay in the living room or with Ryou." Said Minegishi

"The living room is fine." Said Hatori quickly. Sharing a room with Shimazaki? He would rather have slept in a tent in the yard or on the roof…or even the middle of the road.

"Well then you're going to have to be quiet. Shibata passed out in front of the TV again and I do not want to deal with him being awake. Well, Tsuchiya's the one who has to deal with him but I have to listen and I am not up to that right now." said Minegishi, shaking their head. Hatori blinked. Were they STILL fighting? What was there even left to fight about at this point?

Relationships were complicated, as Suzuki had said so many times before, complicated and stressful.

"He's fighting with Tsuchiya again? Mob said-" said Hatori

"Mob says a lot of things, that doesn't mean they're true to anyone other than her." said Minegishi, practically spitting poison as they spoke. The ferns beside them began to grow thorns. Hatori wasn't half the idiot people thought he was, he knew when to get lost. Right now the most dangerous place to be was right next to Minegishi, or maybe even in this house all together.

"I…uh….I should probably go and see how she's doing. I mean I just…uh…it's been a while and-" said Hatori, changing course and walking backwards.

"If you think that you can talk some sense into her then go ahead. I'm done. I mean I'm never done but…why the hell am I even telling you all of this? God, I need a drink." Said Minegishi. They muttered some more things under their breath as they walked away, things that Hatori was pretty sure that he didn't need to hear. He slipped his feet back into his shoes and made his way next door.

Whatever the hell that had been about, whatever Minegishi was upset about, was not something that he needed to get in the middle of.

Or maybe he did. The walk to Mob's house was a short one. In that time he reminded himself that she was his sister now, not just his friend, and even if she had just been his friend he did still have a responsibility to her. Minegishi was pissed off about something that she was doing…and she didn't have the best track record when it came to some stuff…not that he blamed her! No, he could never blame her for what happened.

He blamed himself.

He should have seen it coming. He knew that Shimazaki had always been creepy with her but he had just written it off as Shimazaki being a creepy guy in general. If there was another guy hanging around her, like that Joseph guy had been, then he was going to do what he could to protect her. Suzuki may have thought that she was just a short adult but he knew better. Mob was just a kid. A kid with way more power than most espers could ever hope to have, both psychic and in Claw, but still just a kid…

A bigger kid than she had been before he left but still just a kid.

Mob was nearly his height now, from what he could tell. There had been a few seconds between the door opening and her hugging him. In those few moments he nearly hadn't recognized her. She was so much taller, her hair was down, and for once she wasn't wearing something with Frozen on it…or maybe she hadn't worn those costumes in a while. Maybe he had just been hanging out around their Dad for too long. Suzuki had this weird idea in his head, sometimes, that Mob was about ten years younger than she was. His version of wishful thinking.

Hatori didn't think of her as being ten years younger, just ten years old like when he had met her, but of course she wasn't. She was nearly fourteen and as tall as he was. She was still a kid, though, and always would be compared to him.

"Hatori! You're here!" said Mob as she hugged him. He had barely managed to open her front door before he was caught in a hug. Sho was standing behind her further into the genkan. They made eye contact.

"Hey, I guess." Said Sho. He waved a little before walking away. That was…Sho being Sho. They hadn't always been on the best of terms, this whole adopting him into the family thing must have still been weird for him, but things would get better…right?

One little sibling at a time.

"Hey…and you're gone. Ok then." Said Hatori

"Sho's busy but he's happy to see you. I'm happy too, it's so good to see you!" said Mob as she let go of him. The door behind him closed and he felt himself being lifted up off the ground. His shoes were pulled off of his feet and put in a row with the others. Mob hadn't even asked him…but that was…there was nothing that he could do about that. She was strong enough, and had been for a while, and it wasn't like she was going to hurt him…

If Suzuki wasn't going to hurt him then, of course, there was no way for Mob to.

"It's good to see you too, Mob. I really missed-" said Hatori

"I need you to find my friend Minori for me. She's gone and there was this spirit thing and…and I really just need to find her before it's too late." Said Mob as she pulled Hatori deeper into the house. Her aura was practically bouncing off of her. He wanted to step away from her, to protect himself…though he didn't know from what. She wasn't dangerous, she just felt that way. She was just…just bigger now, that was all. Bigger and stronger.

Though she had always been strong.

"Mob-" said Hatori

"I mean I don't know a lot about spirits-" said Mob

"Listen-" said Hatori

"But I can try really hard and-" said Mob

"Wait a second-" said Hatori

"So I just need you to find her and then I can go and save her and then maybe if it goes fast I can be back in time to make breakfast. I promised Mukai that I would make her rainbow waffles, she saw them on YouTube, and-" said Mob

"Mob, I can try and find her but I don't think that you should go after her. I mean you're stronger than a lot of people but I can't just let you get hurt. Your Dad, our Dad, would never forgive me." said Hatori. Mob stopped walking. She turned to fast him. He couldn't read her, but that was normal.

"You didn't tell him, did you?' asked Mob quickly.

"No, he's busy with Shiori and I didn't want to piss him off…and betray you, either." Said Hatori

"Good, he can't know. I don't need him to help me, anyway. She's my friend and…and I should have been there for her. I should have been a better friend to her and I should have tried harder to keep on being her friend even though she was kind of a b-word and she thought that, thinks, that I'm a b-word and-" said Mob

"You're not a bitch, ok? You're a good friend-" said Hatori

"Thank you, you're a good friend too. I mean you're my brother now but brothers can be friends." Said Mob

"I am, I mean we can be and…and brothers look out for sisters, you know that, right?" said Hatori

"And sisters can look after brothers, too. You look pretty well looked after. Your hair is kind of greasy, I can run you a bath and get you some good shampoo-" said Mob

"What?" asked Hatori, running a hand through his hair. It felt fine to him…

"Or maybe dry shampoo would be good, too. My hair can get kind of greasy too, like when I don't brush it for a while, or if I put in too much oil…so actually that might be oily and not greasy in that case. Did you put oil in your hair?" asked Mob

"I didn't do anything to it." Said Hatori

"I can tell." Said Mob

"Anyway this isn't about my hair…and there's nothing wrong with my hair. This is just…maybe we can find your friend and then come up with a plan. One that doesn't involved you putting yourself in danger. I've read the mission reports and I know what it can do…why your Dad wants it." Said Hatori. Mob gave him a long, unreadable, look.

"You just want to keep the spirit safe so my Dad can use it." Said Mob

"No…well, kind of. Your Dad really needs it for this plan and-" said Hatori

"It's a dangerous spirit and I'm going to destroy it. It hurt so many of my friends, and people who could have maybe been my friends, already. Spirits can be dangerous and when a spirit is dangerous then it's ok to get rid of it." Said Mob

"I never said not to get rid of it. I just…I just want you to be safe. I worry about you, a lot of people are worried about you. Minegishi said-" said Hatori

"Minegishi says lots of things, that doesn't mean that they're true…I mean to anyone other than them. I'm not a little kid, I can make my own choices." Said Mob. Hatori decided to take a step back from this conversation. This was…not a fight that he wanted to have. Brothers and sisters were supposed to fight but they weren't…they hadn't grown up together. Yeah, that was better than saying that they weren't siblings. They were, just not by blood.

He still cared about her just as much as any brother ever cared about his sister.

"I didn't mean anything by that. I just…I just worry about you, that's all." Said Hatori

"You don't have to worry about me. If anything I should worry about you. You need me to take care of you and-" said Mob

"I'm nine years older than you." said Hatori with a laugh that he didn't exactly feel. Some things never changed…like everyone thinking that he was just a really tall kid. He could take care of himself. He wasn't the kid here, Mob was the kid, and he was the adult. He was the older brother and she was the younger sister.

"That doesn't mean that I can't take care of you. You're Hatori. You need me to take care of you, you're fragile like that." Said Mob. Hatori bit his tongue hard enough that he tasted blood.

"How about I find your friend and then we talk? How about that?" asked Hatori, every word causing him pain. He couldn't start with her. He just…he had to figure this out. He had to find a way to make her happy and keep her safe…and how to get back to being used to everything thinking that he was fragile.

Suzuki didn't even treat him like that much of a kid.

"That's a good plan. If you get hungry there's leftover curry in the fridge, actually you can have anything that isn't Sho's or Serizawa's. if you want to sleep you can sleep in the hamster room, that's the living room, but they make noise sometimes. You can share with Sho if he lets you but he kind of wants his own room now. It's kind of…kind of complicated but also not really." Said Mob

"I could just share with Serizawa." Said Hatori

"There's no more room in our room." said Mob. Hatori blinked. He had the urge to clean his glasses even though they had nothing to do with what he just heard.

"Your room?" asked Hatori

"It's actually Dad's old room but I don't think that he's ever going to come back to it so it's ours. Sorry that there's not a lot of room. I mean there would have been but Shimazaki and Minegishi aren't back together yet so there's not a lot of space right now…sorry. When this is all done with then I can maybe find us a really big house to live in or-" said Mob. There was a flash of purple and then a feeling like the world was falling apart…Serizawa. Hatori didn't know if he wanted to run away from the oncoming explosion or run towards him and ask what exactly was up with him and Mob…if there was anything up between him and Mob.

This was Serizawa he was talking about, of course nothing was happening…right?

"Big Sis, he's freaking out again! And I didn't even do anything this time!" called Sho from down the hall.

"I know! hang on, Serizawa, I'm coming!" said Mob before she practically ran away. Hatori found himself alone in the hallway. The kitchen was to the left, the living room was to the right, and in front of him were the stairs. He had three options.

He chose the living room.

Serizawa wasn't Shimazaki. There wasn't anything going on there, there couldn't have been. If there had been then Hatori was a worse judge of character than he ever would have thought. Serizawa was a friend, that was all, really more of a big kid than anything else. This whole thing was just…just nothing to worry about.

He had enough to worry about as it was.

Mob was determined to do this thing with the spirit herself. She really was Suzuki's kid…more so than he ever could have been. He stepped over the hamster tubes and sat down on the couch. She was Suzuki's actual kid and that was ok. He wasn't jealous. He wasn't anything other than worried for her, that was all. He was just…he was just going to look out for her, that was all. It would have been easy, so easy, to tell Suzuki what she was up to. He would have flown right in from Osaka, maybe even under his own power, to stop her…but then she probably would have just been pissed at him. Maybe even pissed enough to cut contact or…or whatever she would do. He didn't want that. He just wanted her to be safe…but of course that was too much to ask.

Mob thought she knew best, she had always thought she knew best, and there was no changing that. There were some things that just never changed.