I want y'all to read with Mochi's perspective, and read with the knowledge of Nejire's third person narrative.

Cuz she lowkey seems toxic in this chapter, and might be, but like, in her eyes, there is a problem.

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"Ok, Nejire, why would you like to meet Eric?" Malachi asked, acting as the Dr.Phil of the session.

"Dad, I'm not ungrateful for anything you've done for me. I just wanna meet him so... so I can have a small relationship. It doesn't compare to anything you've done for me, but I at least want to understand why he left us. I at least want to have a normal relationship with him." Nejire explained. "You're always gonna be my dad." Nejire said, tears beginning to well up in her eyes.

"Ok, Mochi. Your turn." Malachi turned. He was definitely touched by Nejire's statement. Nejire hoped her mother would at least be civil compared to how she was a minute earlier. "Why don't you want Nejire to meet Eric?"

"I don't know Nejire, how should I feel if someone I loved got me pregnant, stayed with me the entire time, and then left right after the baby was born?" Mochi asked in a rhetorical question, "And then how should I feel after that child wants to ignore every single thing he did to me, just by leaving me to be a single mother at seventeen, when he promised me that he'd be there? And don't forget he cut off all contact right after. He didn't want you." She said, tears coming from her eyes. Eyeliner running down her face, her eyes reddened, and her tanned skin appearing golden from the light gleaming on her face.

Every word stung deeply. She never laid the blame on her. All on Eric. But it made her feel ungrateful.

"Ok, so Nejire wants a reason why he left, and you're mad because he left without a reason?"

"Yes." The two women said in unison.

"Ok, Mochi, how do you feel about him never having to see you?" Malachi asked.

"Ok, but he asked to see me. You didn't even like him up until today! I don't understand why she wants to meet him when he said absolutely nothing, about her." Mochi said, her breathing becoming erratic. "How do you even know he'd wanna see you? Like how he 'wanted to see you when you were born?'" Mochi asked, very sarcastically. "He never wanted to see you."

Nejire broke down in tears. She knew she was a mistake. This was known. But hearing she wasn't even wanted... the calm voice made it worse. If she was screaming, there was certainly a chance she was saying it out of anger. The calm voice with a few tears. It stung deep. Like salt in a wound. Or an infected cut.

"That wasn't the question, what about him never having to see you?" Malachi repeated the question.

"Thanks for telling me I'm a mistake mom." Nejire said, her eyes bright red with tears running down her cheeks. "I mean I already knew it, but thanks for telling me." Her voice cracked and shrank. "Really wanted to hear that."

"Nejire, you know I didn't say that." Mochi breathed in, a useless attempt at trying to keep her breathing under control.

"It was implied." Nejire hissed, standing up. "I'm leaving. I'm not staying here right now." Nejire marched out and up to her room to pack a small bag. She knew damn well she was a mistake just like she knew damn well that her dad didn't want her. Did that mean she wanted to hear it from her mother?

Nejire: hey, Ryuko, can I stay over?

Ryuko: its a weekday?
Ryuko:What's wrong?

Nejire: Mom and I got into a fight Just for a few days Plz 🥺

Ryuko: I'll be there in fifteen minutes

Right now, Nejire was changing out of her uniform and packing a bag with overnight clothes and her school uniform. She had a few clothes, mainly because she planned on being out for a while. Especially after that.

Nejire: hey Tamaki :)

Tamaki: hi! How are you?

Not so good, but did she say that? The question was always flawed because you had to say "good" or it would be a long conversation.

Nejire: not so good :/

Tamaki: oh no ;-;

Nejire: yeah I got into a fight with mom. It was awful

Tamaki: I hope things get better :)

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On the way out, Nejire didn't even look at her parents. She left with her school bag, ballet bag, and overnight bag. Ryuko was outside and was waiting for her right now.

"Nejire you don't have to go. We can talk this out." Malachi sighed, trying to keep this argument calm and civil. "Your mom didn't mean that."

"Hey, sorry Malachi, Nejire wanted to stay over. I don't know what happened exactly, but I'll watch over her?" Ryuko said, hugging Malachi and wrapping her arm around Nejire. "I promise I'll have her back before graduation." Ryuko vowed with a wink.

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"Nejire's here." Ryuko said, taking off her purse. "I'm surprised you two are still eating. Sorry I left so fast." She laughed and dragged Nejire to the kitchen to make some food for her. "We're having pork bowls right now, Shinya made it."

"So what happened?" Reiko asked.

"Well, it's kinda personal, but like, I really wanna talk about it. So basically my biological dad is absent and I wanna meet him, and when I asked, my mom basically called me an unwanted mistake, and I already know I am but I didn't wanna hear it." She said in one breath as she sat down at the table.

"Same! My mom called me an unwanted mistake all the time!" Reiko gasped. "Shinya, can we keep her."

"When did mom call you that?" Shinya asked.

"Uh... a bit." Reiko shrugged, "anyways, Nejire! Do you like the food?"

"Hmm?" Nejire asked, taking a huge bite out of her food, looking Reiko in the eye. "Oh its good! I love it!"

"It's my recipe, Shinya just stole it!" Reiko shouted at her brother, who rolled his eyes. Clearly this was a common statement.

"I did not. You're just mad because I'm a better cook than you." Reiko gasped at his statement and turned to her sister-in-law.

"Ryuko, who's better?"

"I'm not participating." Ryuko said, stepping away from their argument. This was almost every night at dinner. It was funny but in the few weeks Reiko had been there, she knew not to get involved.

"You guys eat dinner early. It's only 5."

"That's because someone has work tonight. So he cooked early instead of at six like usual. We usually start cooking around now." Ryuko said.

"I cook. You can't cook for shit." Shinya teased and flicked her forehead.

"That was really mean Shinya." Ryuko faked a pout and looked at her food.

'You said you would eat it. You have to eat it.'

"Reiko, do you still want my food?" Ryuko asked. Reiko dropped her fork and shook her head. Ryuko looked at her weirdly. She had literally wanted to eat it like a few minutes ago.

"You should eat. You'll have more energy." Reiko stammered before getting up. "I'm actually finished, so I'll get working on that doll." Reiko whispered and got up to get to work.

"Bye Reiko!"

"Bye?"

"Bye." Shinya said as he got up to wash his dish. He had finished a second ago, but that awkward little moment kept him there.

"What was that about?" Ryuko asked. No one responded and instead Ryuko looked at her food again. Maybe it was because she was near people who could watch her eat? That was probably why she didn't feel like eating. Had to be.

"I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow," he said looking at Nejire, "and I'll see you at three." Shinya said as he planted a little kiss onto Ryuko's forehead, where she looked at the floor and blushed as if it were the first time he ever kissed her.

"Bye Shinya!"

"Bye Shinya."

When he left, Ryuko's flushed up face disappeared. "Whenever he does that... it's so sweet," She sighed, "I feel like it's our first date all the time." Her sing-song voice hummed. Ryuko sighed and began to look at her food again.

"You two are adorable." Nejire giggled. "Oh, you haven't touched your food, have you?" Nejire asked. She looked at her bowl, and then at Ryuko's body. The muscle she had built up had all kinda faded, and then she had lost a lot of weight in the arms. Not to the point where she was boney, but she was certainly much more frail than she used to be.

"Oh, yeah, I'm just not that hungry."

"Hey, is that company bad or anything? I'm thinking about trying to go to one." Nejire asked, going somewhat off topic. She wanted to know if it was the company making her act like this.

Ryuko looked somewhat conflicted. As if she wanted to keep something secret, but wanted to tell the truth at the same time. Her face scrunched up and relaxed almost a second after.

"Hey, you can't tell Shinya about what I tell you, ok? He's definitely worried about me, and I really don't like worrying him." Ryuko began as if she was finally going to admit something, "Our company isn't the best. It's kinda... toxic? If you wanna go to a company, go to a different one. Maybe they'll have a better studio for lessons." She nervously laughed, trying to make it sound better than it was. It seemed like it was all she was gonna say.

"Oh. And you won't leave?"

"Im just kinda scared of doing that. Like, what if I get black listed." She sighed and took a small bite from her food. "It's just like a bunch of time put to waste." She sighed. "Anyways, I'm gonna put this in the fridge."

"Oh wow. But you don't deserve that company!" Nejire squeaked, "you deserve far better!"

"I really don't. I don't expect them to change just for me. I'm not some sort of goddess. It's like that for everyone." Ryuko sighed. "Let's head upstairs. I have some questions about you and Natsuo." She giggled and wiggled her shoulders.

"Nothing's going on, I promise!" Nejire groaned as she got dragged to her friend's shared bedroom. It was always clean and an egg chair had been added.

"C'mon, what's been going on? Moe and Rumi are talking all about it."

"Moe?" She hadn't seen her in a bit. They really did need to hang out more outside of work. "Who's Rumi?" Nejire asked. She hadn't met her yet.

"She doesn't work in Shinya's department. She and Keigo have their own. They're the black lady with white hair and the blonde with weird eyeliner?" Ryuko explained. "They're in charge of the beast unit. Like werewolves."

"How do they know Natsuo? Well, I know Moe, but Rumi?"

"Oh, there's a little get together at the end of the school year. You know, since a lot of people are still high schoolers. I met the Todoroki's there since Shinya drags me along. We just go into a forest for like four days and hang out."

"Oh, you got to go?"

"Mhm. Since I'm with Shinya. He's been taking me ever since we got serious." Ryuko grinned, just happy to talk about him. "I think all of them are very sweet." Ryuko said, looking down at her phone.

"How'd you two meet anyways? I forget."

"We're talking about you and Natsuo silly! But I thought we told you?" Ryuko thought back to Nejire's little introduction to Shinya.

"Yeah but it was clearly a lie. Met at a wedding or something."

"Oh, that was a lie! Yeah, we met at on a sugar daddy website." Ryuko teased. Nejire whipped her head to face her friend and her face was full of disgust. "Teasing! We met at a party. It was a very weird night now that I think back on it. Kinda embarrassing too." She snickered. "Anyways, you and Natsuo!"

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Nejire and Mochi are mad :)

Ryuko and Shinya met on a sugar daddy website :).

Reiko is suspicious :)

Shinya teasing a wedding like five chapters ago only to never say shit about it again.