It was midnight.

It felt like it, too. Mob had been in this country for long enough that her body clock had adjusted to the change in time. Sometimes when she got go to a new place she would wake up in the middle of the night because her body still thought that she was in a different time zone. That was why she woke up in the middle of the night sometimes but now was not one of those times.

"Sho? What are you doing up so late?" asked Mob. Sho was using his powers to strip his bed. He might have wet the bed again or he might have been eating in bed again, too, and ended up making a mess. Or maybe he had been drawing in bed and got ink or whatever everywhere. Either way she, of course, would have helped him.

"Nothing. Go back to bed." Said Sho. He didn't know what was with him. He hardly even drank any water before bed but it had still happened. Maybe it had less to do with the fact that he hardly drank water and more about the fact that he'd had another bad dream. This always happened when he had bad dreams….and he had no idea why he'd had another bad dream. Dad had been so nice to him lately…or at least not mean. Also the time with the bad place was over, he had gotten his powers, so there was no need to wake up after dreams where he couldn't see or breathe and everything hurt….

"Let me help you." Said Mob as she sat up. She tried to grab his bedding with her powers but he held it tight. She knew that if they had been playing normal tug of war he would have won, he was a lot stronger than her, but this was powers tug of war and when it came to powers she could have easily won…

And maybe she should have.

Because he needed her help and that was her job, to help him, and to take care of him. That was what dad had told her to do. Dad had told her to take care of her little brother so that was what she was going to do. Sho needed her. Even if he was always telling her that she was bossy and stuff he did need her. She could have easily stripped his bed and ran him a bath and then made his bed again and dad wouldn't have even known. Sho was making so much noise that, of course, dad was going to hear him and wake up and then they'd both be in trouble. She didn't want that.

Neither of them wanted that.

"No. I told you to go back to bed." Said Sho. She was always bossing him around and treating him like a baby. Dad said that she was supposed to take care of him but he was not a baby. He could take care of himself. That was why dad was showing him how to do so much stuff. Dad trusted him to learn how to run Claw but big sis didn't even trust him enough to strip his own bed.

"You're making a lot of noise. Dad might wake up." Said Mob

"No I'm not and no he won't." said Sho

"How do you know?" asked Mob

"Because I just know, ok? There's no way that someone could wake up. I'm barely making any noise. I'm like a mouse or a rat or a shrew or a vole or some other tiny animal that doesn't make a lot of noise when it moves around." Said Sho. She never trusted him. She always thought that she knew best. Well he knew best about some things, too. Dad said so. Like when it came to drawing and stuff dad said that he knew best…and that had been the nicest thing that dad had ever said to him….and even dad knew that Sho was not a baby anymore. Why couldn't big sis see that?

"Well I woke up." Said Mob

"Well, duh, you're sitting right there. Dad's all the way down the hall. He won't hear me and even if he did he won't wake up. He's super tired because of the fight today." Said Sho as he yanked his blankets and sheets out of her telekinesis and stuffed them down into the hamper for the Awakened to deal with later.

"You and dad had a fight? When? Are you hurt?" asked Mob as she got out of bed as fast as she could. She turned the lights on with her powers and looked him over. He tried to squirm away as she pulled his shirt up over his head. He didn't have any new injuries…and of course he wouldn't have had any new injuries. Fukuda had probably fixed him up already.

"Get off of me! I'm fine!" said Sho as big sis pulled his shirt up over his head. He was just about to take his own clothes off, he was covered in pee after all, but now he wasn't going to because she had tried to take his clothes off for him. She had pulled his shirt up over his head and was poking at his chest now. He was not a baby. He could undress himself.

"Do you feel ok? Dad….why was he mad at you? Mad enough to fight?" asked Mob. She shouldn't have left Sho and dad alone. She shouldn't have thought that it would be ok to leave them alone just because they had been getting along well lately. She always needed to be there to keep Sho and dad from fighting. She shouldn't have wanted to spend time with her friend or-

"He didn't fight with me. He fought with some guy." Said Sho. Big sis had been away when that happened. That had been Sho's idea. She hated fighting. Dad said that it wasn't her fault that she was weird like that, no, all girls were like that. They all hated fighting and that was why, when dad told him how the Scars got their scars, Sho suggested that dad send big sis away. So that was what dad did. Big sis hung out with her friend doing boring stuff like talking and reading while Sho got to watch the coolest fight ever.

And it had been cool.

Not scary. There hadn't been anything scary at all about it. He didn't know why Fukuda had told him not to look. He had looked. He had watched the whole time. Dad didn't even have to hit that guy, not like he hit Sho, and ok that part had been scary….because for some reason Sho had been expected dad to hit him…but dad hadn't. He hadn't hit anyone. It had been a powers only fight.

Sho had never had a powers only fight before.

And he was not about to start now. Even though big sis was being so bossy and annoying. He pushed her with his powers sometimes but he…he was never going to fight her the way that dad fought people. The she would have ended up with a big ugly scar on her face. Or even a bunch like the tiny old man had. He just hadn't quite no matter how many times dad told him to submit. That gravity control thing had been cool, though.

"When? Which guy?" asked Mob. She didn't remember…but she hadn't been around much that day. She had been hanging out with Minegishi and running errands for dad. She had seen his aura and someone else's but she hadn't asked….and maybe she had. Or maybe not. She didn't want dad to be fighting with Sho or anyone but she couldn't just outright tell him what to do. She could distract him or tell him her opinion if he asked for it.

"Some Scar. Did you know what was how they got their scars? They fight dad for power and he kicks their butts so bad that they get those big, ugly, scars." Said Sho

"Oh…" said Mob. She didn't like how happy Sho was about that. She didn't like how happy Sho got when there was fighting. Dad said that boys just liked fighting, that was how they were, but Mob wasn't sure about that. Mom, back when she was around, was always telling Sho not to fight. She wanted him to be gentle and she wanted Mob to be sweet…and she was doing her best. She was doing the best she could but her best wasn't good enough when dad was going around beating people up for no good-

Control.

Power is nothing without control.

Conceal, don't feel.

"Stop freaking out. Dad didn't kill him or anything. Besides, he was the one who asked to fight dad. He came all the way from Japan just to take a shot at dad and he lost. Even with his cool gravity control powers he lost." Said Sho

"Oh….ok. I guess….I guess that's ok." Said Mob

"Yeah, it is. It was more than ok. I wish you didn't get so weird when there's fighting. It was so cool! Like, the guy could make these black holes and dad was all 'oh, you can manipulate gravity, neat' but then he undid the whole thing! He said that you have to have very good control to mess around with gravity and stuff but I bet that I could. He said that he would take me someplace deserted so I could practice without killing everyone around me." Said Sho. He wouldn't lose control and kill everyone. He was the Awakened Child, he had better control than that. That was what everyone called him 'The Awakened Child' which was way better than what they called big sis. They only called her 'Miss Suzuki' because that was all that she was. Being born with her powers, being born right, wasn't nearly as cool as living through being awakened. Dad had even said so.

He said that it was impressive that Sho hadn't died.

Which was kind of scary, because Sho had figured that dad would have kept him from dying, but if dad had been there to keep him from dying then there never would have been any danger and he would have never awakened his powers and then stuff wouldn't be as good as it was now. Life was pretty awesome now. He and dad were mostly ok now. Dad still said that he was annoying and stuff but he also let Sho hang around and taught him stuff, too, stuff that big sis didn't get to learn because she was a girl. So, really, it had all worked out and big sis had nothing to freak out about.

"You probably could…mess with gravity I mean…but I wish that you didn't think that fighting people was cool. There's nothing cool about hurting people." Said Mob

"I never said that hurting people was cool. I said that the fight was cool." Said Sho. That was just something that she couldn't understand because she was a girl. Hurting people was not fun. The act of fighting was fun. Girls were just weird like that. He wished that she had been his big brother. Then, maybe, they would have been able to understand each other…but then again if she had been his big brother instead of his big sister dad would have…dad would have had no reason to have had Sho in the first place. You needed at least one boy and one girl in a family, dad had said, so have an even set. You had a girl to take care of you and a boy to succeed you. If dad already had a boy then he would have had no reason to have another one.

He was happy with a big sister instead of a big brother…even if she was hard to understand and also the bossiest person in whatever country they happened to find themselves in.

"But fighting IS hurting people, Sho, it is." Said Mob. She didn't like it when people got hurt. Powers were not for hurting people with. Mom had said so. Dad had also said, when they were little, that an ant did not have a quarrel with a boot. That meant that they weren't supposed to go stepping on ants for no good reason. They were not supposed to use their powers to fight people who were weaker than them. It was…it just felt wrong to Mob. Very wrong.

"No it's not. Fighting is cool moves and powers and stuff like that. Hurting people is just….making people feel bad. There's a difference. A big difference." Said Sho. He spoke slowly and clearly like he was talking to someone who didn't speak good Japanese.

"Then why did you wet the bed?" asked Mob

"What?! I never told you that I-" asked Sho

"You're all wet and you smell like pee and you're stripping your bed at midnight, I can tell that you wet the bed, little brother. You only wet the bed when you have bad dreams and a lot of the time when you have bad dreams it's because something happened during the day." Said Mob

"….I wet the bed for no reason at all…" said Sho quietly. He did not have a bad dream because of the super awesome fight that he had just seen. He had a bad dream because….because that was the thing that his brain had decided to do to him. That was all. Also he drank way too much water before bed. Yeah, the water was probably the real reason that he had wet the bed.

"Oh….that doesn't make a lot of sense but I'll believe you. Now come on, I'll draw you a bath and then-" said Mob as she used her powers to get new pajamas out of the drawer for Sho. Sho crossed his arms and turned his back to her. She could see his tree, the tree shaped scar on his back, and she wanted nothing more than to reach out and trace it's roots. She didn't, of course, because she knew that it would just make him mad. It didn't hurt him, she never would have done anything to hurt him even on accident, but he just did not having it touched. It was so pretty…even if he did have to be in a lot of pain to get it.

She should have been the one who ended up with that tree.

And not just because it was pretty. It was because you had to go through a lot of pain to get it. She didn't remember much from that day but she remembered how much it hurt….to know that Sho was hurt….and how powerless she had felt. Well she was not powerless now. She was going to take care of him whether he liked it or not. That was her job, to take care of him.

"You don't need to draw me a bath. I'm not a baby, I can make my own bath, and I'm not going to take a bath anyway." Said Sho. He kicked his pajama pants off and tossed them in the laundry hamper. He took his new pajamas from her. He could have picked them out on his own. He knew how to take care of himself. He did this on his own all the time. She was usually with dad, anyway, so she didn't even know what he did….but she still should have been able to just…to just know that he wasn't a baby anymore. A little kid anymore. Even dad knew that he wasn't a little kid anymore.

"Sho, you have to take a bath. You're covered in pee. You could get sick and either way you don't smell good. Come on, I'll run you a shower and-" said Mob. She couldn't let him out of her sight. He might have ended up waking dad up. Dad minded when Mob woke him up, but not too much, but he got super upset when Sho woke him up. Sho and dad may have gotten along better than usual but they still weren't as good together as dad and Mob were.

"Big sis! I can run my own shower, ok? We don't have to take every single bath of our lives together! I mean shower….or bath…thing with soap and water! I'm not a little baby, I can run my own shower. This happens to me a lot and I can take care of this all by myself. Ok? Can't you just get off of my back for five seconds?" asked Sho. He wanted to push her…but he didn't. He wouldn't. That wouldn't have been fighting, that would have been hurting her, and he hated hurting her. He loved her. Even if she was annoying and bossy he still loved her.

"Oh….ok. I just…if you woke dad up he would be mad at you. If I woke him up he would just be mad at me….and I don't mind it if dad is mad at me. He never gets as mad at me as he does at you." Said Mob

"Dad's hardly mad at me anymore. Calm down already. I'm not a kid anymore, big sis, and me and dad hardly ever fight." Said Sho with a wave of his hand. She was all worried over nothing. Sho knew that things would get better if he got his powers. Things did get better, it just took time, but now he and dad were doing better than they ever had before.

Big sis couldn't see it.

That was because she had her own stuff going on. Maybe it was like dad was always saying. He and big sis weren't little kids anymore. They were old enough to not only do things for themselves but also for him. They were going to be grownups soon. They were going to be grownups and dad said that they had to practice for that now. That was why dad taught him one thing and big sis had to run errands for him and stuff. They weren't kids anymore and not only did that mean that Sho could help dad out but, also, he could run his own baths and stuff!

Why couldn't he have had a little sister instead of a big sister?

"Ok….I guess…but please be careful. I don't want anything bad to happen to you, little brother, because I love you." Said Mob

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I love you too. Just go back to bed, ok? I'll see you in the morning." Said Sho. He didn't want her to be upset. He didn't want anyone to be upset. He wished that she hadn't woken up. She slept too lightly. She had always slept too lightly. Maybe it was time that they had their own rooms…

Nope.

Showering on his own was one thing but sleeping on his own was another thing entirely. They weren't little kids anymore but….but even grownups shared rooms so this was ok and not babyish at all. He wasn't afraid of the dark or anything like that but….but he couldn't sleep alone. He just couldn't.

"Ok…..goodnight, Sho." said Mob softly. She waited until Sho was out of their room before she climbed back into bed. She reached over with her powers and made his bed with new bedding. She could at least do that for him. Even if he wanted to do more on his own…without her…and they had been together for their entire lives…well his entire life. There had been a whole year of her life that had taken place without her little brother…

They had never taken a bath separately before.

But a shower was different. A shower was different because…because it was not a bath. A bath was something that could be shared but a shower could not. Technically you were supposed to scrub down and then take a bath, that was the way other people did, but mom had never bathed them like that. She said that her house growing up had been more western so it was a western bathroom and that was how she and Sho were used to taking baths…even if dad said that it was gross to just jump into the tub like that. Maybe she should have scrubbed Sho down before…because he had been kind of gross…

She needed to take care of Sho.

But it was hard taking care of someone who didn't want to be taken care of. Dad said that they were older now, eight and nine, and that was why they were old enough to come to work with him now. Back when they had been six and seven they had been old enough to go on trips with him. What would happen when they were nine and ten? Ten and eleven? Eleven and twelve? Mob didn't know. She didn't know but she did know that no matter how old they got she would never stop taking care of her little brother.

And also midnight was late.

And she was tired.

So she closed her eyes and went to sleep…even if she hadn't wanted to….to stay up and wait for Sho to come back….

It was midnight. Midnight was late. She fell asleep.