Sho actually kind of liked all the marks on his body.

"Sho, come on. It's bath time." Said big sis. He didn't want to take a bath, not really, but dad said that he was filthy. Sho didn't think that he was filthy and he had said so but dad said that they had to take a bath and big sis said so and sometimes it was just best to do what dad and big sis said…also dad wasn't happy that they had ripped a tree out of the ground and brought it inside.

But also he was impressed. He said so.

So, really, it had been the best Christmas ever just for that. He had used that word, impressive, because Sho was impressive. Dad had said so…and it had felt so good. Even better than opening all of his presents. More art supplies, so many art supplies, and other stuff on his list. Like a new tablet. Like a new 3DS XL…which was better than his old DS because it was in 3D….and also all the games he wanted…and also he and big sis had phones now, real ones, because dad said that he was sick of their asking for them….

But dad saying that it was impressive that he ripped a tree out of the ground and dragged it inside…that had been the best thing ever….

So, really, everything was worth it. Including all of the marks all over his skin. The pinpricks up and down either side of his arm, the thick leathery skin that wrapped up the side of both of his legs, the thick skin on the soles of his feet, and especially the tree on his back. Well it wasn't a tree, it was where he had been shot full of lightening, but it was cool looking. Big sis had took a picture of it.

He didn't really remember all of how he got these marks….and he didn't want to…but he was happy that they were there because they meant that he finally had powers, his real powers, like dad and big sis.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm coming." Said Sho. He turned away from the mirror, it was one of this whole wall mirrors like mom and dad had in their room at the castle. He could see his whole body all at once in that mirror. All of the marks on his body. All of his scars. They were cool.

Big sis looked away when he turned around.

It wasn't because he was naked. They had seen each other naked every single bath time since they were kids. You weren't supposed to see girls naked and they weren't supposed to see you naked but it was ok if you were brother and sister. Big sis wasn't looking away because he was naked, no, she was looking away because of all the marks on his body. He didn't remember everything about how he got them, and Fukuda said that he was better off that way, but he remembered waking up in a bed with big sis holding his hand and telling her that she was so sorry that all of that stuff had happened to him and now he had all of these marks.

He didn't get what she was so upset about.

"You can go in first so you can be comfortable." Said big sis. She was still looking away from him. He didn't get her. What was she so upset about? She wasn't the one who had to go through all of that stuff….not that he had been afraid. No, not once. Not even when the doctor guy closed the door and…

"Or I can go first if you want me to." Said big sis. She was holding onto her hair now. She did that when she was bothered by something. What did she have to be bothered by? She had been born with her powers. She had no idea what you had to go through….but it was worth it. It was worth it and he was fine. Even if the water was so hot there was steam…and the room was kind of hot…and maybe breathing was getting kind of hard…

He stepped into the tub.

And he was fine. This was a bathtub, he had been taking baths in bathtubs for his entire life, and this bath tub did not have a door that was going to close and he was not going to be underwater until he couldn't breathe anymore and he was not strapped and he was fine and-

He couldn't move his arms.

He didn't think. He just threw himself back and used his powers to get free. He shouldn't have done that. That was big sis. That was big sis and she had just been hugging him from behind, a back hug because he was not a baby and did not need his big sister to hug him like he was little, and he didn't know why he was a jerk to her there. Maybe because he was annoyed at being hugged. Yeah, that was it.

"I'm sorry. I just thought that you needed a hug. Your aura looked like….it looked like you needed a hug. That was all. I'm sorry, Sho." said big sis. Sho shrugged. He was just being weird. He was fine now. His breathing was normal and he was normal and he hadn't hurt her, her back was to the wall not the faucet, so really everything was fine. Really.

"I don't need a hug. I'm fine. I'm better than fine….check this out!" said Sho. He raised a hand in the air and a globe of water floated out of the tub and hung around in the air. Big sis used to do this a lot when they were really little. She used to wait until mom left them alone and then she would make water planets. Mom didn't like it when they used their powers. She always got upset or at least kind of worried looking…but mom wasn't there anymore.

"That's cool, Sho, I'm glad you can do that now." Said big sis. That was what she said whenever he did something with his powers. She just said that she was happy for him…and he knew that she was telling the truth. She didn't lie. She couldn't lie. She really was happy for him…even though she had no reason to be. Didn't she get it? He had powers now, too, just like she did. That was what made her so special, what made dad like her the best. Powers were her thing and now he had them and now dad might even start to like him the best.

But she wasn't afraid of that.

It was like she didn't care, sometimes, even though she said that she did. She had said, when they woke up in beds that they didn't recognize in a place that they had never been before, that she was so happy that he had finally gotten his powers. That she had been wishing for him to have powers just like hers for their entire lives. That made zero sense. Didn't she realize that she was in danger? That now dad could totally like him just as much as he liked her? That dad would want to hang out with him, now, and would want to stay up late watching boring TV and playing boring games like Go and Chinese Checkers and read boring books about history and other countries and stuff…with him? Not her?

Did it have to be an either/or thing?

It had always been an either/or thing. She had always had dad and he had always had mom…until they didn't have a mom anymore. After that she had gotten dad and he had been alone. Well she had never left him alone, not when they were both awake anyway, but it was not the same. She may have always been pretending to be their mom but she was not their mom. She was big sis. Big sis was not mom. He had mom, before, and he had needed her…but now he had dad. Maybe. And also he totally wanted dad.

He did.

He really did.

Even if dad had been a jerk to him before. Even if dad had hit him a bunch of times before. Even if dad had called him a bunch of names before. Even if dad had…dad loved him, now, because he had powers. Things would be different now. They had to be. Dad had only been mean to him because he had been born wrong and big sis had been born right. Well now he had powers like hers and dad's and now…now things would be better.

It had been worth it.

"That's all you have to say?" asked Sho

"Um…I think that if you focus more the water will keep it's shape better. You move your hands a lot when you use telekinesis. Dad says that the mark of true control is keeping your aura steady and your movements to a minimum. Like this." said big sis. She barely moved her fingers and a perfect ball of water rose out of the tub. His water blobs wiggled and wobbled and lost water but she had just made one…now two….now three perfect water balls.

He let his water globe fall on her head.

"Whatever. Maybe I wanted mine to be like that. Not everything needs to be perfect, you know." Said Sho. He stuck out his tongue even though he knew that it was rude. He had powers like hers now. It had all been worth it…even if she was better at having powers….but that was just because she'd been born with her powers. He'd only had these powers for a couple of weeks. Plus she'd had dad to teach her about her powers for as long as she'd been alive. Dad had hardly been back since they moved to this house.

It had to do with the…the thing….he remembered.

He remembered being afraid, being in pain, and then a bright light. At first he thought that he had finally died, he remembered asking to die a couple of times when the pain had been too much even though he didn't really mean it…at least not now….and he remembered seeing a light and then being really scared and then cold….and then he didn't remember anything. Fukuda said that it was better that he didn't remember.

He remembered seeing the sky.

Which made no sense since the compound was mostly underground. He remembered everything hurting and looking up and seeing the sky…and then nothing. And then he went to sleep. That might have been a dream…or it might not have been. Big sis was always talking about how she was so worried about exploding….so maybe he had exploded and took the roof off the place. It would have made sense. He had heard dad talking on the phone, too, about their not being any more Eighth Division because of the 'Awakening Incident'….so maybe Sho was just so awesome and so powerful that he totally wrecked the whole compound. Big sis couldn't even do that…right? He didn't know. He had never seen just what she could do….and she had never seen just what he could do either! She said that she didn't remember what happened either. She said that the last thing she remembered was dad yelling at her and then when she woke up she was in bed and he was in bed and they were in beds that they had never seen before in a house that they had never seen before wearing pajamas that they had never seen before and when they left their room they found dad and he had a look on his face that they had never seen before….

It had been a little scary.

But they were past that point now. It was over and he had powers and it had been Christmas and a New Year was coming and with that New Year came a whole bunch of new stuff. The first year of his life where he had actual powers. He couldn't wait. The first year where dad would like him as much as big sis. He really couldn't wait. He might even end up being more powerful than his own big sis.

He really, really, couldn't wait.

"I'm sorry. I was just trying to help." Said big sis. She did that thing where she played with her hair. She did that when she got upset because sometimes her hair floated away. He wondered if his hair would do the same thing too….but maybe not since it was always spiky.

"I didn't ask for your help. I can do things on my own. I can figure out my powers on my own." Said Sho. Big sis nodded.

"I know that you can…but I just wanted to help you. I guess that I just feel bad about…about how I couldn't help you before." Said big sis

"Help me when?" asked Sho

"Before. At the Eighth Division. You needed me and I wasn't there. I could see your aura and I knew that you needed help but I waited for too long and now you're…like this." said big sis

"Like what? Totally awesome?" asked Sho. He made another water glob and let it fall on her head. She didn't react. She just sat there. She was staring at him now. She was staring and staring and staring and he did not like the way that she was staring at him.

He poked her.

"That hurt." Said big sis. Maybe he shouldn't have poked her in the chest like that. Mom said that you weren't supposed to poke girls in the chest even if they didn't have boobs. He didn't know why he poked her there…or even poked her at all. Well she had been staring but….but he had been kind of a jerk. He was such a jerk sometimes….

"Sorry. You were just staring at me too much." Said Sho

"Oh. I'm sorry. I just….I'm sorry about what happened to you. All of…all of your scars I mean." Said big sis. She reached out and touched he pin pricks that ran up and down the tops of his arms. He had some on the bottoms too. She let her hand rest of them…and he shook it away. That was where they had put the needles in him. They didn't hurt…but he also didn't want to think about it. It had all been worth it. Dad had even said that nothing worth achieving didn't come with sacrifice. He said that before they closed the doors…

Water went everywhere.

Now he was cold. Big sis used her powers to turn the taps on. She also used her powers to pick up the water and put it in the sink. She just picked it up and then…and then it went in the sink. She could pick up water like it was nothing. Water was hard to pick up. It didn't have a shape, it was just water, and it just…it didn't like to be picked up. It really didn't.

He poked her again.

"Don't be sorry, dummy, you didn't make me do anything. I wanted this. I wanted to go into the machine and I wanted to get powers and now I have powers and it was all worth it." Said Sho. Dad had asked him a bunch of times if he wanted to go into the machine, if he wanted to let those scientist doctor guys hurt him, and if he wanted to get out. He said no. No matter how much it hurt he still said no. Even when he thought that he was going to die he still said no.

It was worth it.

Now he had powers. What could be better? He had powers and now he could be as good, or even better, than his big sis. What else could he have asked for? This was everything that he had ever wanted…and she had said that it had been everything that she had ever wanted for him, too. But if that was the truth then why did she try and save him when he hadn't needed saving?

Because she had been worried.

Or maybe because she wanted dad all to herself. It's a thought that makes no sense because, well, he knows her. He knows that she never lies and she's all about sharing and all of that stuff. She was bossy, the bossiest big sister in the world, but she did not lie to him….even though it would have made more sense if she hadn't wanted him to get powers. If she hadn't wanted him to be like her. If she was jealous of him…

If she was that sort of person then it would have been easier for him when he was a jerk….he would have felt like a lot less of a jerk….anyway….

"But you were in pain…" said big sis.

"No pain no gain." Said Sho

"That's something that people say but….but I'm still sorry and I wish that there was a way to give you your powers, your new powers, without you being in pain or…or you getting all of these scars." Said big sis. She touched the pin marks in his arm again and he was just about ready to poke her in the chest again, even if you weren't supposed to do that, but then she stopped. She raised her hand up and she called their shampoo over. She picked it this time, it smelled like bubblegum, and it was ok….even though he liked the Zootopia kind better.

She dropped a glob of shampoo on his head.

He dipped his head forwards and let her wash his hair for him. He could wash it himself but he didn't want to. It was bad enough that he had to take a bath, she had made him, so she had might as well wash his hair. Even though he was a big kid now. Even though, before she left, mom had showed him how to wash his hair. He felt her fingers in her hair…tugging a little…just a little…but then a little felt like a lot even though he knew her and he knew that she was not the sort of person who tugged on hair…that was what he did to her….and she was not tugging on his hair…and nothing was tugging on his hair…and he was fine. He was there, in the tub, and he was fine…

"I can do it myself!" said Sho. He knocked her hands out of his hair. He reached up and lathered his hair really fast. Fast enough that it was done in almost a second. She was washing her hair, now, and it took longer because she had miles and miles and miles of it. He turned his back to her and dipped his head under the water.

There was a hand on his back.

He pushed her away with his powers.

"I'm sorry! I just….I just wanted to touch your tree." Said big sis. He kept his back to her. He could feel it, now, the burning…he could feel it…and then he didn't. He didn't feel it because it was over. It was over and it had all been worth it.

"Well don't. We're in the bath. It's weird to go poking around someone like that when you're taking a bath with them." Said Sho

"It is?" asked big sis

"Of course it is!" said Sho

"Oh…but you've been poking me in the chest all night even though it really hurts." Said big sis. She crossed her arms over her chest like she was afraid that he would poke her again…which to be fair was what he had just been doing.

"Fine. I'm sorry that I poked you in the chest a bunch of times." Said Sho. His back was still to her. He didn't want to look at her. He knew that she was still looking at him. He didn't want her or anyone else looking at him…and not just because he was naked.

"I'm sorry that I touched your tree. I didn't know that it still hurt. I just…I thought that it was kind of pretty. That's all." said big sis

"It doesn't hurt anymore and it's not pretty. It's cool. I'm a boy. Nothing about me is pretty." Said Sho. He was still turned around. He felt the water behind him shift. She was rinsing her hair now. She didn't ever duck her head under, no, she showed off and used her powers to pick water up and dump it over her head. He should have done that. He could do that now.

"I think that your eyes are pretty." Said big sis once she was done washing her hair.

"What did I just say?" asked Sho. Nope. He was a boy and nothing about him was pretty. His eyes were cool…even if they weren't. He used to hate his eyes, before, back when they had lived in the castle. His eyes and his hair and his freckles. Nobody looked like him. Now that they had been away from home for a while…people looked more like him. Not a lot of red hair, people still stared at him because of his hair, but a lot more people with blue eyes.

"I'm sorry. I mean cool. I always thought that your eyes were cool. I always wanted eyes like yours, little brother." Said big sis. She reached over his shoulder and handed him a bar of soap. She picked this soap out too. It was shaped like a strawberry. That was ok. It was better than citrus, anyway, but everything was better than citrus. Citrus was evil. It made him itchy and it could have even killed him. When he ruled the world, after dad gave it to him, he was making all citrus illegal. It was so stupid. He had all of these powers but something as puny as a grapefruit could kill him. It wasn't fair. Big sis wasn't allergic to citrus. She should have said that she was happy about not being allergic to citrus…and having brown eyes. Brown eyes and black hair and no freckles at all. She looked like everyone else…back home. Nobody looked like her out here, out of Japan, and he should not have been so…so happy…when people stared at her.

"Yeah, well, that's dumb. You should be happy that you look like everyone else." Said Sho with a shrug. He had powers now…but she was still born right and he was still born wrong. He may have looked like dad but she looked like everyone else in Japan. Not that they were ever going back to Japan….maybe. He didn't know. They had been out of Japan since mom left and…and sometimes it was nice looking like everyone else. At least out here, out in the world, out in some parts of the world at least, people looked at him like he belonged.

"I don't…not really. I want to look like you and dad and…and you and dad." Said big sis. Sho shrugged and handed her the bar of soap. His back was still to her. She was staring at him, at his tree, and at least her staring at him was better than her touching him. Touching his scars. They didn't hurt but…but he still did not want her touching them.

"Whatever, you're weird. Anyway I'm ready to come out now. See you later." Said Sho. He climbed out of the tub. He didn't feel like playing in the tub with her. He hadn't felt like doing that for a while. Maybe he was just getting older. He was eight now. He was maybe too old to be playing in the tub with his big sis.

Or maybe she should have just stopped staring at him and touching him.

He caught sight out himself in the whole wall mirror. He liked the marks, the scars, even if it had hurt getting them. He had powers now so they were worth it. They were a reminder of how…how hard it had been to get these powers. Big sis had been born right, he had been born wrong, but he had evened it out. He had earned his powers, she had been given them. So maybe it was better this way.

He actually kind of liked all of the marks on his body.