Hatori Nozomu knew for a fact that he was going to die.

Not in the 'someday when he was an old man' sense. No, he was going to die very soon. Be killed. Suzuki was going to kill him…or worse, un-adopt him. Hatori had spent more of his life as someone's kid than as an orphan. He didn't think that he could go back to being an orphan, that he could live like that again. In the group or a Claw living space…place…ok, he wasn't fifteen anymore, but still. He didn't want to go back to being on his own.

It was actually pretty fucking lonely.

"I'm going to die…I'm going to die…death is coming…" muttered Hatori as he kicked his shoes off in the genkan. How could he have let his phone die? He hadn't been thinking, that was the problem. He wasn't the guy who went over the travel checklist, that was Shibata's job, and they should have brought him!

None of this was Hatori's fault.

"Well if you do die then it's your own fault." Said Shimazaki as he teleported in with a half unconscious Serizawa. He kicked his shoes off mainly because he lived here. If this had been someone else's house he wouldn't have given a damn but in his own house…well, there were standards!

Also Toshi would have been pissed at him and he was barely in their good graces.

"I know, I know! Suzuki trusted me and I fucked up-" said Hatori

"No, I mean because you've been muttering that the whole way home. It's annoying as fuck. Toshi, back me up here." Said Shimazaki as he tried to shake Serizawa's feet out of his shoes. He muttered something about Mob and went back to resting his head on Shimazkai's shoulder…and drooling on his only leather jacket. He would have just dumped Serizawa off somewhere if Mob hadn't cared about him so fucking much. Why she did he'd never know but, hey, Mob was Mob.

"I don't know, Ryou, I'm too tired to know anything right now." muttered Minegishi as they untied their shoes and faced them the right way…in the nearly empty genkan. Had it always been so big? Something was wrong here…

"Did you take another bar or something?" asked Shimazaki as he gave up and just put Serizawa down on the floor. He didn't drop Serizawa in the bay, that should have been enough for Mob. He loved her but that didn't mean that he was going to bend over backwards for her. For Toshi, yes, for his dog, of course, for enough chocolate…maybe, it had to be a hell of a lot of chocolate, but for Mob he was going to stay standing.

"No, travel is just exhausting and Mob is exhausting and I'm exhausted." Said Minegishi as they rubbed their eyes. Sleeping in a room surrounded by everyone else was exhausting, worrying about Mob running off into the night to get revenge on the spirit that almost killed her was exhausting, worrying about what Mob would come up with next was exhausting, worrying about Mob…

Mob was exhausting. They cared about her more than anyone else they knew but that didn't mean that she wasn't still exhausting.

"You think that you're tired? You haven't had Suzuki yelling, text yelling, at you all-" said Hatori

"You want to take a nap?" asked Shimazaki, making sure Hatori knew that he was being ignored.

"Don't hog the bed." Said Minegishi as they faced his shoes the right way. Not Hatori's, though, because he was perfectly capable of doing this himself. Ryou was too but…but they didn't have to justify themselves to anyone, not even themselves. Besides, Shibata was way too finicky about these things and he was already going to have a fit when he saw the state Serizawa was in-

-wait.

"Ryou, is Shibata home?" asked Minegishi. Shibata had to be home and…and alright, they knew that they should have heard Mukai shrieking or laughing or running by now but Tsuchiya might have just taken her out. There was no way…no. Somehow…no, there was no way. They knew him and they knew what he was capable of…he had to be around. They felt Ryou's aura pass over them. Ryou made his frustrated face and then teleported away. They could hear him rummaging around upstairs, in the kitchen, and then they felt him leave the house. Hatori shot them a worried look as his phone vibrated in his hand.

Whether he was worried about Suzuki or Shibata they didn't know and they didn't care. They didn't have the mental space to deal with this right now.

"He's not…so tired…" muttered Serizawa as he woke up. His back hurt so much. He tried to sit up but he couldn't, he just felt so heavy…had he always been this heavy? He tried to turn over. Now something was poking him in the ribs but he could live with this…he was so tired. He just had to sleep some more…he just needed to sleep….

"Is he going to be ok?" asked Hatori as he poked Serizawa in the chest. Serizawa didn't say anything, he just kept on sleeping. That couldn't have been good for him. No wonder Minegishi was so tired all the time.

"No idea, that's not important right now anyway." Said Minegishi as Ryou teleported back into the genkan. His socks were black on the bottom, for some reason he smelled like salt water, and he had glitter all over his shoulders.

They took it that Shibata wasn't around.

"Ok, nobody panic." Said Shimazaki as he brushed the itchy stuff out of his hair. He had looked everywhere! This was the worst thing to happen to him since…he couldn't even remember! This was horrible! This was a crime plain and simple, and he knew a lot about committing crimes! There was no way he was going to let this stand!

"Wait…are you panicked? Is he panicked?" asked Hatori as he began to feel his feet turning towards the stairs. He wanted to go upstairs and hide from whatever it was that could send Shimazaki into a panic.

"Ryou's not panicking, he's just trying to freak you out for his own amusement even though this is NOT the time." Said Minegishi

"Toshi, if I was trying to freak him out I'd dangle him from the roof or something. We need to try not to panic, ok? There's been a kidnapping." Said Shimazaki

"That's bad…that's a bad thing…" muttered Serizawa as he turned over, trying to get away from the lumpy thing that was poking him in the ribs. He could hear everyone around him and he knew that he should have done something but he was just too tired…Miss Suzuki would understand. She was such a good person…such a forgiving person…even if she had tried to kiss him…had actually kissed him…but that was ok since that was what friends did to you sometimes.

Sometimes they tried to kiss you, sometimes they scared you, and sometimes they gave you bitter pills to swallow so you slept all day and didn't have to worry about a thing.

"Shibata's been kidnapped?" asked Minegishi, trying to sound a lot calmer than they were. If someone had the firepower to take Shibata down…and Tsuchiya and Mukai too since they were gone too…ok, this was bad. Someone was determined, it seemed, to get to…Suzuki? Or Mob? Or just to hurt Claw in general? They were mobilizing, anyone with eyes could have seen that, and it was totally possible that Suzuki hadn't one hundred percent crushed all of his competition…

They had to stay calm. As the only real adult in the room it was their responsibility to stay calm.

"We're going to die…we're all going to die. He's going to kill us all and hide our bodies in the desert." Said Hatori

"Miss Suzuki wouldn't let that happen." Said Serizawa

"Fuck Suzuki, this is about-" said Shimazaki

"Ryou, take Serizawa to the kitchen. Hatori, fill him with those energy drinks you're always drinking." Said Minegishi. When they were met with blank stares they clapped their hands and glared. That got everyone moving. They took a moment to rest before they followed them.

There really wasn't any rest for the wicked.

"Ok, so we know that-" said Minegishi as they entered the kitchen to find…exactly what they thought they'd find. Serizawa half asleep slumped over the table with Ryou trying to force at least ten times the daily recommended levels of caffeine and sugar down his throat. Hatori stood off to the side looking like he was going to cry.

Where was Mob when they needed her?

Oh yeah, off with Sho to deal with whatever it was that Fukuda needed from them. They shouldn't have been thinking of involving Mob in this anyway, she had enough going on, and there was no telling what she was going to do if she was involved. Probably something reckless. Something that she'd need saving from…no, whoever had done this was human.

Whoever had done this would need saving from her, not the other way around.

"We know that two bars might be too much for Serizawa. Maybe we should call Fukuda, not that I give a fuck about Serizawa's health and wellbeing, no, we just need a heavy hitter if we're going to save my dog." Said Shimazaki as he tried to force a can of what smelled weirdly like drain cleaner into Serizawa's unwilling mouth. Hid poor dog was out there alone in the world and all his most trusted friends and companions could do was sit there and stare at him!

"Were you…looking for your dog?" asked Minegishi, trying their best to stay calm. If they lost it then Hatori was going to lose it and if he lost it then Serizawa was going to lose it and then if Serizawa lost it there wouldn't be any hope for any of them. So they stayed calm even though Ryou…actually, no, they had no idea what it was that they had even expected from Ryou.

"Yeah, who else would I have been looking for?" asked Shimazaki

"Shibata!" shouted Minegishi

"He's not home." Said Serizawa as he sat up and wiped his face. Shimazaki tried to hand him a can of something but he wasn't thirsty. He just wanted to go to his room and get some sleep…but he couldn't. Shimazaki held him down at the table. He looked around. Where was Miss Suzuki?

"We've established that, Serizawa, thank you for catching up with the rest of us. Ryou…have you been talking about your dog the whole time?" asked Minegishi

"Well, yeah, obviously. If Shibata left then he left of his own accord. If my dog left then he was kidnapped. I mean, come on, how's he supposed to leave the house? He doesn't have any reason to leave, we take great care of him and fill him with love and steak." Said Shimazaki

"Also he doesn't have any thumbs." Muttered Minegishi

"That too but if he had thumbs then he still wouldn't have left." Said Shimazaki. He felt Toshi roll their eyes.

"We're not here to debate whether or not your dog loves you, Ryou." said Minegishi

"Fukuda has the dog…remember? Sho said to watch the dog and Fukuda said yes…he likes animals." Said Serizawa as a can of something he didn't want to drink was forced into his hand. He really didn't like this but if his friends wanted him to drink it then he would…though he was more hungry than anything else. He hoped Shibata came home soon, he always made the best lunches…dinners? Whatever meal it was that they were sitting in the kitchen waiting for.

"I checked Fukuda's house already, and his office, and the park, and the ocean, and the crafting store. He wasn't anywhere." Said Shimazaki

"Fukuda or the dog?" asked Hatori

"Why were you at the crafting store?" asked Minegishi

"Mukai likes crafts…and yes, I can look for two people at once. I was mostly looking for my dog but I couldn't find Mukai anywhere my dog would have been." Said Shimazaki

"For the love of…you, is your phone charged yet?" asked Minegishi as they pointed at Hatori. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and nodded, shaking the whole time.

"Um, yeah, but it's kind of occupied right now. Suzuki's really pissed right now and-" said Hatori

"I really don't give a damn about Suzuki Touichirou right now, alright? I need you to find Shibata…and make sure he's been kidnapped." Said Minegishi. He had better have been kidnapped. He had better have been dragged somewhere against his will. He better not have had the terrible idea to remove even more stability from Mob's life. He had better not have left. He had better not have defected…

Shibata had been in Claw for as long as Minegishi had. He knew fully well what happened to traitors, defectors, and people who got up during meetings.

"We…want him to have been kidnapped?" asked Hatori as he searched for Shibata's phone. It hadn't taken long, he had just been at the train station…and he'd left Tokyo. He dove deeper. Security camera footage, debit card transactions, those surveys he was always filling out even though it was faster just to hit five stars for everything…

He hadn't been kidnapped at all…but he got the feeling that this wasn't a good thing.

"You know what Suzuki does to deserters and traitors." Said Minegishi

"But…he's neither of those things. This is Shibata we're talking about." Said Hatori

"You know Mob doesn't want him gone and you know what Suzuki does to people who upset Mob." Said Minegishi

"But Miss Suzuki said-" said Serizawa

"What Mob says and what she means aren't always the same thing." Said Minegishi. This was going to be bad. For Shibata, who they kind of did care about, and for Mob, who they absolutely cared about. They were going to have to go and find him, collect him, weren't they?

Great.

"Tell me about it." Muttered Shimazaki as he took a drink of…something that people weren't meant to drink. Coke was better for energy. Mob would have agreed with him, if it was one of those times when she said what she meant. There was no guarantee of it, it seemed.

"Sometimes Miss Suzuki says she's a terrible person but she isn't, sometimes she says she's happy when she isn't, and sometimes she kisses you and you don't know why." Said Serizawa as he sat up. His head was swimming and his stomach was killing him. He needed to eat something…right, Shibata was gone…Miss Suzuki knew how to make dinner! But she was tired and she would probably be all mad at Fukuda when she got back so he wasn't going to ask her to make him dinner…he wished he knew how to make dinner…

He wished he knew a lot of things…but Miss Suzuki knew a lot of things and she would always be there for him, she said so.

"Yeah, that's Mob." Said Shimazaki before he teleported away for Serizawa's own good…and maybe his own. Mob could do whatever she wanted to do, it wasn't like they were together, and even if they had been it wasn't like he was going to try and stop her. Why she went after a guy like Serizawa was a mystery but…but whatever. He wasn't a detective.

"Uh…." Said Hatori. That wasn't something that had actually happened…right? Mob hadn't actually kissed Serizawa…well, she did kind of have a thing for older guys but she wouldn't have crossed that line, not when Hatori was supposed to be taking care of her!

"Did you just say what I think you just said?" asked Minegishi. They were losing their mind, plain and simple. Mob wouldn't have. She couldn't have. She knew better. She knew what her father would do to Serizawa if he knew about this…and she knew that she could have done better. This was Serizawa! Ryou was…understandable…if incredibly

"What did you think I just said?" asked Serizawa. He hoped that they remembered because he really didn't. He put his head down on the table. That didn't help.

"That Mob kissed you." said Minegishi, trying to best to keep calm. They weren't going to lose it. If they lost it then everything would fall apart and that was just…not the thing that needed to happen right now…even though they were so close to losing it they could feel it.

"Oh yeah…she did. I don't know why she did but she did. It's hard to understand Miss Suzuki sometimes, why she says the things she does and does the things she does, but I know she's my friend and that's what matters. Sometimes your friends kiss you like you kissed me once and Shimazaki-" said Serizawa

"Wait, what?! Did I miss something?" asked Hatori. Serizawa got around…not that he cared. Minegishi had it going on but he knew better than to be into them, they were terrifying. Shimazaki was even more terrifying and Mob was a kid. That wasn't right, that wasn't right at all, and part of him kind of wanted to hit Serizawa…if he was into it Hatori would hit him but if he wasn't then…he didn't know. Mob, nice as she was, was kind of terrifying too….

"No, you didn't, but this isn't anything that you need to even so much as think about." Said Minegishi. It hadn't been their proudest moment and as for Ryou….whatever.

"Miss Suzuki kissed me and it was weird and I feel weird about it and I'm kind of worried that she'll do it again but we're still friends and…and I feel better, actually, but kind of tired. So maybe if I sleep forever then she'll never do it again." Said Serizawa

"Good plan, sleeping beauty, good plan…damn it, Mob…ok! Hatori, find Shibata and tell him to get back here with Tsuchiya and Mukai before I go after them. Serizawa…I don't know, avoid Mob until I talk some sense into her. Ryou…if you ever come back…I don't know, if he comes back tell him not to bother me. I'm taking a nap." Said Minegishi before they got up and left. They didn't have the mental space to deal with this right now. Mob…they loved her but that wasn't love without limits…they didn't know where those limits were but they did know that Mob…she was trying to drive them crazy…

They didn't have the energy to lose their mind right now.

"But…wait! What about…" said Hatori. He didn't know what he was supposed to do right now. This all seemed like the kind of thing that Suzuki would have wanted to know about. Mob pissed him off, yeah, but he still loved her and he was going to want to know about people deserting her. He loved Mukai even more than Mob and someone taking his daughter away was definitely the kind of thing he wanted to know about. As far as Mob's love life went…Serizawa wasn't Shimazaki, he wasn't into her, so maybe this wasn't the kind of thing Suzuki needed to know about…

Suzuki was already ready to kill him.

He didn't want to keep things from Suzuki. If he found out that Hatori was keeping secrets then it would all be over and…yeah, he didn't want that, but he did want…he wanted everything to be ok. He just wanted this to be a normal day. It wasn't, though, and he…didn't want to make things worse on himself. So he kept his mouth shut.

Suzuki was already ready to kill him, maybe it was better not to give him any more reason to, at least not while he was this angry.