Sho didn't care if this counted as defecting.

Sho knew what happened to people who tried to defect, he'd seen it, and he didn't care. It wasn't like dad was actually going to leave him in a hole to die or whatever if he got caught. He was the only boy and dad didn't have a wife anymore so it wasn't like he was going to have any more kids. Well….there was Mukai…but her real mom was missing so it wasn't like dad could just google her and then find her and have another kid…gross. Dad and some lady…so gross….whatever. It wasn't like girls even liked dad so Sho wasn't ever getting a little brother.

He was going to be fine.

He was fine right now. Sure it was hot and crowded and his backpack was really heavy and his phone was going to die soon. He could charge it on the train. It was a long trip to Seasoning City. He could charge it on the train and if this wasn't the kind of train with charging holes…outlets. If this wasn't that kind of train then…then he could charge his phone at Ritsu's house or…or wherever. He didn't really know where he was going besides that he wanted, needed, to see Ritsu. He could live in Ritsu's wardrobe or…or in a hole like a badger or…or in a tree like a bird…or he could make a nest out of hay and sleep in it like a hamster…

He sure hoped that Fukuda remembered how to take care of the hamsters.

They needed weekly baths, three times daily meals, and they liked it when you talked to them too. They needed conversations one on one with you and also big group ones. Also you had to separate the parents and the babies because sometimes they ate the babies. Also you had to separate the boys from the girls because they kept on doing it and making new babies…but Fukuda would have been able to remember all of that….it wasn't like it was complicated…

He was going to miss his hamsters.

Big sis knew what to do, anyway, if Fukuda forgot…even though she had a lot to do already…well now she had less to do because he was going to be gone until dad noticed he had left and then brought him back. He knew that dad was probably going to kick the shit out of him when he got back but that was worth it. He couldn't stay in that house for a minute longer…even with baby sis around he just…he had to go. He had to run away for a little bit and start a new life and…and maybe then his problems would go away like mosquito bites did if you didn't scratch them. He just…he had to get on this train and…and he had to see Ritsu.

He had to see the person he loved.

The train was coming around the corner. He could hear it. The ground under his feet was shaking. Time to line up…that was a thing that people did. Sho wasn't used to being around this many people, normal people, on his own. Nobody here had an aura…it was like when he made Mukai's dolls get up and walk around. He knew that they were people the same way that he was a person, like with thoughts and stuff, but they didn't have any auras at all and the whole thing was just….weird….just really weird and…and this was fine. He was going to be there in no time. He just had to get in line and get on the train.

Nothing was ever that simple.

The minute he got in line he felt the energy around him shift…and then there was an aura. He knew that aura. Shimazaki. What the…Sho took a step forward. Maybe if he pretended that he didn't notice…that didn't help. He felt Shimazaki's hand on his shoulder. His whole body felt warm…maybe because he was wearing a jacket. It wasn't fall yet, not really, so maybe he should have taken it off…it did look weird to be wearing a jacket right now…maybe he could…

He tried to slip out of his jacket. Shimazaki got him by the wrist.

"Sho, come on. It's hot as hell out here and I don't feel like chasing you around." Said Shimazaki as he held onto Sho. Sho looked up at him and glared.

"If you don't let go of me then I'll yell." Said Sho

"If you yell then everyone here is going to see me teleport away with you and then, well, you remember when Mukai put the cat in the pillow case? It's going to be like that but with human beings and your dad getting pissed off…and trust me, you don't want to piss him off today." Said Shimazaki. He pointed upwards…yeah, Sho could see it too. Dad's aura was really bright. He could kind of see the tower for Tokyo HQ…..and he could really see dad's aura…

Fuck dad.

"Fuck my dad." Said Sho. He meant it. Fuck dad. Fuck dad for thinking that he could run Sho's life. What, the world wasn't enough for him? He had to run Sho's life…telling him who he could love…talking to his girlfriend….just…fuck dad!

"Not my Job, Sho. Right now my job is to get you the hell out of here and….wait for it…" said Shimazaki

"Wait for what?" asked Sho. He tried to pull himself free but Shimazaki was holding him in place. He was strong…and his telekinesis was kind of strong too. He couldn't do a lot of the stuff Sho could do, he couldn't use it to draw or brush his teeth or fold socks, but he could use it to keep Sho from moving a muscle…it wasn't fair. He debated shouting…but then dad….he was pissed and he would have been even more pissed….and dad was even stronger than Shimazaki was….and about a million times scarier…

Fuck dad!

"We are being watched and…..now!" said Shimazaki. Before Sho could say anything the floor underneath his feet was gone. He felt it…and then it was gone again…and the one more time…and then it was gone. Sho felt like he was a stone being skipped in a lake. He could get about two skips in, big sis could do one, and Mukai…well Mukai just liked throwing rocks in the water and yelling at her reflection….

Sho wondered how many skips Shimazaki could do before they sank.

It turned out to be four. Four skips before the ground under his feet stopped disappearing. He sank into it…grass…and shade. It smelled good out here…oh. His eyes had been closed. He opened his eyes…he was lying face down in the grass in the woods. There were bushes around him, and trees. Even some birds were singing….it was a really nice place…

But it wasn't where he wanted to be.

"Fuck you!" shouted Sho as he got to his feet. He walked over and tried to shove Shimazaki but he didn't even move. He just stood there and let Sho push. He wasn't big and he wasn't strong…but he was pissed off. He shoved Shimazaki with his powers as hard as he could. There. That was the thing that…well it made him stumble…

Sho wanted him to fall!

As much as Sho loved him…he wanted Shimazaki to fall…but he just wouldn't! He was still standing. He only stumbled and…and why did he have to be so strong?! Why did he have to be so much stronger than Sho?! Why did everyone in the whole world have to be so much stronger than Sho that they could just…just make him go places he didn't want to go and do things that he didn't want to do and marry people who he didn't want to marry!? Why did it have to be like this?! Why did dad have to…to treat him like…like he wasn't even a person!?

Fuck this and fuck dad and fuck Shimazaki too!

"Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck-" said Sho

"Come on, I know I taught you better than that." Said Shimazaki

"Fuck you you…you bastard! You're a bastard and a bitch and you suck dicks in public bathrooms like an out of work businessman during Golden Week and you're a dick hole's dick hole!" shouted Sho. He gave Shimazaki one last shove. He didn't move, he didn't do anything, he just laughed….

Fuck him!

"Fuck-" said Sho

"Yeah, yeah, I get it. Fuck me." Said Shimazaki

"Yeah….yeah! Fuck you!" said Sho

"Not going to happen, by the way, so you can just forget about that Suzuki-chan." Said Shimazaki. He reached over and ruffled Sho's hair like he was…like he was a little kid or something and…and he hadn't even…what in the hell…he would never have actually asked Shimazaki to…he didn't even WANT to….and he did but he didn't and…and…and….

"What the hell?! I didn't mean it like that!" said Sho. He hid his face even though there was no point. Shimazaki could probably still sense how red he was…even though it was his fault! He was the one who…who went and said all that weird stuff….and he wasn't Suzuki-chan! He was Sho-chan….Sho-kun! He was Sho-kun and…and he wasn't a little kid anymore!

"Sure you didn't." said Shimazaki

"I-I really didn't! I mean it like…like fuck you for teleporting me away without asking me first!" said Sho

"Well if I had asked you then you wouldn't have come with and, yeah, kind of needed you to come with." Said Shimazaki

"Why do you care? I'm almost twelve. I can take a train by myself." Said Sho

"I know you can…and that's why I had to stop you. Anyway you should-" said Shimazaki

"You didn't have to stop me! I was just fine on my own!" said Sho

"I never said that you weren't. I know that you know how to take a train. It's so easy even I can do it…ok, hold for laughter…and no laughter is coming. Alright then." Said Shimazaki

"I'll laugh when you say something funny." Said Sho

"You used to laugh at whatever I said. You were like a hyena." Said Shimazaki

"Well that was because I was in…you were funnier back when I was….little. You're not funny now. You're annoying and you…you really pissed me off! You can't just teleport me places without asking and…and I should fuck you up for even-" said Sho. He had been about to tell Shimazaki that he'd been funnier when Sho had been in love with him…but that was a lie. Shimazaki was still funny and Sho was still in love with him…but just not as much as he had been before. He had a boyfriend now and when he and Ritsu grew up and Claw took over the world Sho was going to make it so that he and Ritsu could get married and then…and then he wouldn't have to run away to see him!

But that was a long time coming….and he couldn't even see Ritsu now because Shimazaki was being a dick hole!

"You really should be thanking me, you know." Said Shimazaki

"Thanking you? For what? You made me miss my train! The next one isn't for another two hours! I don't have two hours!" said Sho. Well he kind of did. It wasn't like he had even told Ritsu that he was coming over….well he couldn't have risked Hatori finding out….but maybe…it didn't matter! He didn't have two hours or even two minutes. Even from all the way over…wherever he was right now…he could feel dad's aura…it was like no matter where he went in the world dad was following him….

So he just had to work harder at getting away…even though this was dad's world...no! Not yet!

"Oh? I didn't realize you had places to be. Well wherever it is you're going it had better be fun…more fun than Mob's been lately anyway…." Shimazaki muttered that last part. He had a point, big sis had been super boring lately…but what in the hell did he think that he was complaining about!? She wasn't his sister and…and what did he care if Sho was going someplace fun or not anyway?

"Why do you even give a damn where I'm going? If you want to have fun just go and hang out with big sis or something…" said Sho. He couldn't keep the jealousy out of his voice. He knew that Shimazaki wasn't his boyfriend, and that he had a boyfriend and Ritsu was the best boyfriend ever, but it was just…it was hard to fall out of love with someone! Especially if you'd spent what felt like your whole entire life in love with him!

Even if he did flick you over the head.

"Stop. Being. Jealous. I told you before the way I feel about you is completely different from the way I feel about her and there's no changing that…and anyway she's been really busy lately…well I mean we all have but she's just…I don't know. It's like she's avoiding me or something….but I can't figure out why. I mean she can do whatever she wants, I don't own her and she doesn't own me, and if she's into someone then she can just say 'hey Ryou, I'm more into weird nerds so I'm going to hang out with them' and…well I mean it doesn't make me HAPPY but it's not like I'm going to be pissed at her. You know what I mean?" asked Shimazaki

"…no, not really." Said Sho. Shimazaki did that sometimes. He just kind of talked about stuff that happened in his head like other people knew what it was. Sho used to try and keep up the conversation even though Shimazaki jumped to entirely different topics like stones skipped on a lake…but now…well like Shimazaki said, he had places to be!

He wondered if he could take a plane to Seasoning City….no….dad would have noticed…..fuck!

"Well anyway it doesn't matter. Mob….well she's Mob. She likes taking care of people and those two need all the caretaking they can get…whatever. This isn't your problem. What is your problem is the beat down I'm sure your dad is going to give you once he realizes that you were trying to defect." Said Shimazaki

"….I don't care if dad beats me up. He's been beating me up my whole life. It never gets any better…but it never gets any worse so I don't care." Said Sho. Shimazaki sighed and then did that thing where he put a hand on Sho's shoulder and got down on his level. This was what he did when he had something really serious to say…even though it didn't matter. He couldn't see Sho anyway and Sho could hear him just fine even if he had been at his normal height.

Sho wasn't a baby, he didn't need Shimazaki to get down on his level like he was baby sis or something.

"Sho, listen to me. There's always something worse." Said Shimazaki

"I know that….don't you think I know that?" asked Sho

"No, I don't think that you know that. That's why you're trying to go off on your own like an idiot…and this is coming from me. The other day I stuck a fork in an electrical socket just because I was bored." Said Shimazaki

"Why didn't you just do…anything else?" asked Sho

"Because there was a fork on the table next to me and I wanted to see what would happen…anyway, yeah, if I think that you have a bad idea then you know it's a phenomenally, unprecedentedly, bad idea. You went off on your own already and your dad….you're lucky that he didn't fuck you up in some major way for that." Said Shimazaki

"Dad can't, like, kill me or anything. He doesn't have mom anymore and I'm his only son." Said Sho

"You know that he can just have another, right? You know that's how Mukai got here, right?" asked Shimazaki

"Yeah…I know dad did it with her mom….but her mom ran away too like mine did…and also stop talking about gross shit like that!" said Sho

"Hey, you're the one who thinks that you're irreplaceable. This is Claw. Pretty much everyone is replaceable in some way. Even the heir to this insanity." Said Shimazaki

"….I'm dad's only son…he can't replace me. Girls don't even like him! He's weird and he's a jerk and…and he never….he's never nice and…and…and girls don't like him!" said Sho

"Yeah, personality wise he's a dumpster fire. You're right about that. He's got a lot of money and power, though, and there's always going to be people who are after a piece of that…and if that means having his kid then that's what's going to happen. Anyway I heard from Serizawa that he's seeing someone….well I heard from listening to Serizawa and Hatori through the walls but that's pretty much the same as if they'd said it to my face so…yeah. You might be getting a little brother at some point." Said Shimazaki. Sho…he…he was…he was the only boy. Sho knew that he was the only boy and he would always be the only boy….he….

The only reason he was alive was because dad needed a son.

Girls couldn't inherit the world. They joined their husband's families when they got married and their babies were their husband's blood, not hers. Sho suspected that when a girl had your baby her blood turned into yours somehow….maybe the white stuff had something to do with it…the books he had didn't go into what happened beyond the fact that if you put your dick in a girl she'd have your baby. The only reason Sho was even here in the world was because he had to do that really gross thing with a girl and then he'd have a son and then that son would inherit the world after him. He planned on leaving the world to…maybe big sis? Even if she didn't have his blood anymore after she got married and had a baby then…well he didn't care. Even if she wound up being Shigeko with a new family name she would always be Suzuki Shigeko to him…

But dad didn't know any of that…as far as he knew Sho was going to marry Emmy and have forty sons and forty daughters with her.

"Hatori and Serizawa are morons. They don't know anything. If dad had a girlfriend then I would have noticed. She'd probably be hanging around and always trying to kiss him and hang out with him and stuff. You know how girls are when they like you…and no girl is ever going to like my dad! Ever!" said Sho

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that." Said Shimazaki

"I will." Said Sho

"That doesn't change the outcome." Said Shimazaki

"What outcome?" asked Sho

"The fact that even if you tell yourself every single day ten times a day that you're irreplaceable that doesn't change the fact that if your dad put his mind to it he could find some woman desperate enough for a piece of everything that he had that she'd break herself off a piece of him, too, and then you'll have a little brother…and then protecting you is going to get a hell of a lot harder." Said Shimazaki

"I don't need anyone to protect me! I can protect myself!" said Sho. Shimazaki sighed and flicked him over the head again.

"No, you can't, not against someone like your dad." Said Shimazaki

"I'm not a baby. I'm almost as strong as-as-as-" said Sho. He wasn't as strong as big sis….or anyone, really. There were a ton of people in Claw weaker than him but…but he didn't want to compare himself to the Awakened. He was….he was almost as strong as the upper echelons! And he was stronger than…than Hatori….but that wasn't saying much. Hatori was the weakest esper in the upper echelons...well he was tied with Fukuda….

Sho knew that he didn't have a chance against dad….but Shimazaki didn't have to just come out and say it like that!

"You're not as strong as your dad and that's what matters. Sho…do you know why I brought you here?" asked Shimazaki

"Because dad made you." Said Sho

"No, your dad doesn't know a thing about this…or at least I think that he doesn't. Hatori texted me, personally, and told me to get your ass back home before your dad noticed you trying to defect." Said Shimazaki

"I wasn't trying to defect!" said Sho

"Uh-huh, sure. I take it you were just getting on a train for the hell of it then?" asked Shimazaki

"No…not for the hell of it….I was trying to…to see Ritsu again. I just…I miss him a lot and…and I don't want to be around dad anymore! He's such….he's not the boss of the world yet and he's not the boss of me! He doesn't get to tell me that…that I have to marry a girl…or that I have to like boys and girls or…or that I can't see my own boyfriend-but don't tell him I have a boyfriend!" said Sho

"I'm not telling him anything." Said Shimazaki

"Good…good….I'd better be able to trust you!" said Sho

"You know you can. What do I possibly have to gain by running to your dad and telling him all about the guy you've got hidden away at wherever the hell your train was headed?" asked Shimazaki

"I don't know…but you're on his side. That's why you're here. You came here to bring me back to him because…because you know that if I leave he'll think I'm defecting forever and then he'll find me and beat me up." Said Sho

"I'm on your side, not his. You know that I think your dad's a piece of shit. Most of the world does, actually, the only people who actually like him are your sister and the nerd herd." Said Shimazaki

"If you don't like him then…then why are you doing this? You don't have to listen to him. I know that I can't beat him on my own but if you helped me and then…and then a bunch of other really powerful guys we could-" said Sho. He would have kept talking…he had to keep talking. He had to get all of this out while he still could. These were things that he'd only thought about before. Things that…that had always seemed like crazy dreams but now that he said them out loud it felt like….it seemed like….like maybe it could happen…maybe all of this could happen…..maybe he could take the world from dad and make it into something that HE wanted…or he could at least take it from dad so he could see everything that had had been working on for the last thirty years just fall apart….so he could see dad get what was coming to him…Shimazaki would have understood that if he would have just let Sho talk!

But no, he had to put his hand over Sho's mouth.

Sho tried licking his hand…but that didn't work. He was immune, like big sis was. Sho tried biting him…but Shimazaki either didn't feel it through his barrier or he didn't care. He had one hand over Sho's mouth and the other one on the back of his head. Sho didn't know how he could get out of this. Shimazaki…he was really strong…and Sho was still so weak…way too weak….and he would be for a long time….

It wasn't fair!

"Sho. Stop it and listen. I'm going to uncover your mouth in a minute but first I need you to listen to me. I love you. I love you and I have no chance of saving your life if your dad decides to kill you. Normally I like fucking with him but even I can see that leaving the way you did…trying to do it again…that's crossing a line that your dad isn't going to let you cross. You aren't Mob, he's not going to let you get away with that, and Mob can't be at your side twenty four seven….or maybe she can since she's too busy making time for everyone else…anyway! Your dad can and will replace you if he has to…and I don't want that to happen." Said Shimazaki

"Fuck you!" said Sho, his voice muffled by Shimazaki's hand.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, fuck me sideways. I heard you the tenth time. Now you have to listen to me. I love you and I know that I'd love you if you were haunting the world as a disembodied spirit but I know that I'd love you even more if you were alive, alright? I'm going to do whatever I can to keep you alive and that means bringing you here then that's what I'm going to have to do." Said Shimazaki

"Here?" asked Sho. He really wished that Shimazaki would take his hand away already. This made for weird conversation…and also he tasted liked he'd been petting dogs.

"Yeah, here. This is where my dad left me to die…well he left me by the side of the road over there but this is where I slept sometimes and….collected myself. I brought you here because, well I figured you had to blow off some steam, but also because I wanted to show you that you're not irreplaceable and if you keep pulling this shit you're going to wish your dad abandoned you in the woods to die." Said Shimazaki. He took his hand away from Sho's mouth. Good. He could breathe again. He licked his arm a couple of times…he tasted like skin…but it was better than whatever the hell Shimazaki had tasted like.

Dog, mostly, and chocolate…life if you rubbed a candy bar on a dog and then smashed it against your face for a while…and also it was all sweaty.

"Ok? So do you get it now?" asked Shimazaki

"No." said Sho

"Oh come on-" said Shimazaki

"You killed your dad. You told me about all the times you tried to kill him…like how you stabbed him with a kitchen knife and twisted it. You killed your dad and-" said Sho

"I didn't kill him! I just…I let him die…and anyway my dad wasn't Suzuki fucking Touichirou. Your dad is off the charts powerful and I know what he does to traitors….and what you were saying back there was traitor talk. I can't protect you if someone catches you talking like that." Said Shimazaki

"I don't need protecting…and especially not from someone on dad's side." Said Sho

"For the last time I am not on his side. I'm on the side that's going to win, like you should be, so will you just-" said Shimazaki. Sho didn't know what Shimazaki wanted him to do…and he never would. Sho felt…well it felt like dad was right behind him. Like he was standing right behind him ready to pop out and scare him or something….but dad was back in the HQ and…and that was…a lot of red. He saw dad's aura…

And then the ground started to move.

Shimazaki grabbed him and then pulled him to the ground. Sho felt like he was a turtle. Like he was the turtle part of the turtle and Shimazaki was the shell. He was covering Sho with his entire body…he was really close….way too close…he was all warm…way too warm…and he actually smelled kind of good aside from the dog smell…way too good….and….and Sho had been mad at him! Way too mad! He was still mad and….and the ground was moving and…and….

And he should not have been thinking about this right now!

He should NOT have been thinking about how it felt to have Shimazaki all around him…how it felt to be pressed into his chest…how he couldn't remember the last time he had ever been this close to Shimazaki…how he couldn't remember if they'd ever been this close…how he'd been this close to Ritsu before and how…how great that night had been and…and now he was thinking about kissing!? What the fuck was wrong with him!? The ground was moving, dad was freaking out, and here he was imaging Shimazaki kissing him…a lot….like how Ritsu had kissed him and….

No! Not now!

"Get off of me!" shouted Sho. Shimazaki didn't move. He just kept pinning Sho down like a really big turtle shell. He as breathing weird…and his aura was being weird. It was really bright and also it kind of…hurt? Not hurt but…but it didn't feel good. It felt like when Mukai poked him with her chopsticks at dinner. Not painful but like….not good either…but it didn't feel bad enough to distract him from the fact that Shimazaki was right on top of him and…and….

The ground stopped shaking.

The second the ground stopped shaking Sho pushed Shimazaki off of him. He didn't do anything to stop Sho…and Sho hadn't been trying to push him that hard….but he wound up flat on his back. He was on his back and he was reached out and…and his aura was…really dim. Shimazaki wasn't as bright, his aura, wasn't as bright as Sho's was…or big sis's…or dad's….but it wasn't ever this dim. Not even when he slept. Now it was dim and…and he was breathing funny and he was feeling the ground in front of him….like really digging his fingers into it…

Sho held his hand out.

Shimazaki didn't take it.

"Earthquake…its just an earthquake…it's an earthquake…." Muttered Shimazaki. Sho waved his hand right in front of Shimazaki's face. Nothing. He wasn't ignoring Sho, well he wasn't acting like he was ignoring Sho, he was just…not looking. He was breathing funny and reaching out in front of himself with one hand…and the other was grasping at the tree trunk behind him….

"Shimazaki?" asked Sho. He reached his hand out further and poked Shimazaki…he jumped. He jumped and threw himself back…and he was still breathing weird….Sho had never heard him breathing like this before…and he never wanted to hear it again. it sounded like he'd just run a marathon or something even though they hadn't gone anywhere….and…and the earthquake hadn't been that scary. Sho had never been in an earthquake before but it wasn't like it was as scary as a whole division exploding. Shimazaki hadn't even been that scared…well he hadn't been there when it had exploded…but he still would not have been anywhere near this scared…this was Shimazaki! Nothing scared him! Especially not dad!

Or maybe dad was the exception…he had caused the earthquake after all.

"H-Hey…Shimazaki? Ryou? Are you…are you ok?" asked Sho. Shimazaki reached hand out and sort of swiped at the air. He reached closer and closer to Sho but he didn't touch him…maybe he was messing around? Sho didn't think that he was but…but him messing around would have made sense. This didn't make sense…this was scary and it didn't really make sense….

He gave Shimazaki his hand.

"Are you…are you-you-" said Sho

"Blind. I'm blind." Said Shimazaki. Sho laughed. It wasn't funny but he laughed. Shimazaki…he must have been kidding…right? Of course he was blind, that was his thing. He loved messing with people, making them think he could see and then making them uncomfortable when they realized he couldn't, and…and he must have been messing with Sho…even though he had no reason to….

"That's a good one." said Sho

"I'm not kidding. I can't see shit right now….this hasn't happened since the last time your dad exploded…but I was right fucking next to….it's ok. I'm ok. You're ok. It's like…have you ever been to a concert before?" asked Shimazaki

"Like at Disneyland?" asked Sho. He'd been to a million shows at Disneyland before. Big sis loved the Frozen show at Shanghai Disneyland…and baby Mukai loved the Stitch show at the first Disneyland….and he could really take or leave the shows but he'd seen a lot of them…and if Shimazaki wanted to talk about Disneyland then that was fine by Sho.

"No, like a real concert...ok, we're going to a real concert, just you and me. How's that sound?" said Shimazaki. He was trying to sound happier than he was, Sho could tell.

"Uh…ok….sure…" said Sho

"But don't stand right by the speakers, ever. You could end up temporarily deafening yourself or…or hearing…you ever her a high pitched ringing in your ears fro no reason?" asked Shimazaki

"Yeah, sometimes, but you just said that you were blind, not deaf." Said Sho

"Well it's the same thing only the ringing is in my brain…my powers…whatever part of my brain controls my powers and it's like…like no matter where I look I hear your dad and…just stay close, ok? I am not going to leave you to die out here and…and just stay close…and periodically remind me how old I am." Said Shimazaki

"Um…you're almost thirty two….?" Said Sho. He didn't like this. He didn't like the way Shimazaki was talking or breathing…or the way he was clinging to Sho. He'd spent so many nights locked in his room or the bathroom imagining this. Shimazaki holding him tight and never letting him go…but it wasn't supposed to be like this…Shimazaki wasn't supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to get scared, he wasn't supposed to freak out. He wasn't supposed to be this person. He was supposed to be…he was supposed to be Shimazaki Ryou….

He wasn't supposed to be a scared kid.

Sho was the only kid there and he wasn't scared….not at all…even though Shimazaki was. Shimazaki who was so much bigger than him and stronger than him….Shimazaki who had been dumped in these very woods as a kid and didn't freak out once. Sho knew the story, it was one of his favorites. It was right after Shimazaki's dad had shot his mom. His dad had driven him out into the woods to die since he thought that it was Shimazaki's fault for teleporting out of the way of the bullet. He didn't want to shoot Shimazaki after that, no, that would have been too good for him so brought Shimazaki here and left him to die…but he didn't die. He was brave. He used his powers to find his way home and then the first thing he did was get a knife from the kitchen, stab his dad in the guts, and twist it. He didn't cry or freak out….Shimazaki didn't do things like that….

Shimazaki didn't act like this….this wasn't…this wasn't….it wasn't…..

"Good, good. Just keep telling me that I'm nearly thirty two and…and don't eat the green berries, either….don't eat any berries…just…just stay here. Stay with me…I need….I need you to stay where I can tell where you are." Said Shimazaki. Sho did as he was told. He didn't really like getting bossed around but now…now this was ok. Shimazaki was freaking out…dad had him freaked out. Dad had fucked him his powers and…and even if Shimazaki had been on dad's side a second ago that didn't mean that he deserved this.

Dad had to be stopped.

And Sho would be the man to stop him…probably when he was a man. Right now he was still just a kid and…and if Shimazaki wasn't even strong enough to stand up to dad then what chance did Sho have? When he was older…when he finished growing…then dad would pay. Dad would pay for the way he'd treated Sho, dad would pay for freaking Shimazaki out like this, and he would pay….he would pay for everything that he had ever done wrong in his entire life. Dad would pay…he would pay with his life….or at least his life's work. Sho wasn't going to defect from Claw, not even for a little bit. No, he knew what he had to do. He wasn't going to run away, no, he was going to stay…and he was going to bring it down around dad's head…

Like an earthquake.