Sho liked to draw.

He drew all the time. Things he had seen, things that he had seen in dreams, things that he wanted to see in dreams later, and stuff that was totally random. Sometimes he drew random stuff like just shapes or just scribbles or just dots and stuff like that. This was not one of those times.

This was one of those times where he had drawn something that he wanted to see.

Well something that he wanted to happen in the future…and something that he had wanted to happen in the future. Something that he wanted to happen and that had happened to him. He knew that he had known for this while mission that he would have to go. Knowing made it easier…but that did not mean that it was easy. Leaving. Going home. Saying goodbye to baby sis.

No, not goodbye.

See you later. That was better. He had thought, when Fukuda took her away on that terrible day that he still sometimes had bad dreams about, that he would never see her again. He had thought that Fukuda was carrying baby sis out of his life forever. Well he hadn't been. He knew where she was and he knew that he would be able to see her again. Not anytime soon, though, because he had just gone on a mission to the Seventh Division. If he came here too often then dad would be suspicious. Dad didn't want him to see little sis but Sho…he didn't care what dad wanted. Not now. Seeing baby sis was something that he would fight dad about if it came down to it.

Not that it would.

Because he was going to trick dad. That was the plan. Dad thought that he was so smart but he wasn't. He thought that Sho had come here to learn how to do missions and field work and stuff. Well the joke was on him because the only things Sho had done were draw, play with baby sis, and learn to choke down disgusting stuff that some people considered to be food. He would do it all again, too, even the disgusting food part because when you were a guest in someone's home you had to be polite…and stuff. It was worth it to see baby sis. Dad would never have let him go and see baby sis…but if he was out on missions then dad would never have had any idea what Sho had been doing.

It was the perfect plan.

Fukuda helped him think it up. Sho was going to go places with mission groups and stuff and then while he was away from dad he would come to visit big sis…if he was near or around Japan, of course. Sho had promised even though he knew that he could travel places by himself. Mukai was the baby, not him, and he could take care of himself. He had this. He was going to be able to see baby sis again! Not very often but he would still be able to see her!

But not today.

"Sho, you coming?" asked Fukuda. He knocked on Sho's door before he stuck his head in and asked. Big sis never did that. She always just came in. Dad did that too. Fukuda didn't do that. It was weird, having someone knock, this whole thing had been weird. Not weird enough to bother him but still pretty weird. Like sleeping in a room with only one bed. He had been sad at first, being away from big sis, but he felt better now. Sleeping in a room by himself was normal for him since she went to bed after him and sometimes she even spent the whole night sleeping next to dad. He had barely missed her after that first day. What was the point of missing big sis when he got to see baby sis?

Baby sis was a much better sister.

She smiled and stuff at him and she wanted to play fun stuff like put your arm in the paper towel roll or laugh at yourself in the mirror. They weren't super fun games on their own but baby sis was good at making them fun. She could make anything fun. Even giving her a bottle or watching her baby shows with her even though he already knew his colors and how to count and stuff. Baby sis was way better than big sis. All big sis ever did was pretend to be mom.

He didn't want that.

What he wanted to do was stay with his baby sis but that wasn't going to happen. He couldn't even say goodbye since he would be leaving during her sleeping time. Her new mom didn't just her go to sleep whenever she felt like it and wake up whenever she felt like it and stuff. Her new mom had her on a really tight schedule. That was why Sho had said goodbye again last night. Fukuda had been there in case he got upset again, and he had, but nowhere near as bad as last time. This time he mostly just cried….

And cried.

But then he stopped crying and had the best idea ever.

"Wait, I have to give something to baby sis." Said Sho. He held up the drawing he had done for her last night. The drawing he had made for her on the way in had been hard. He hadn't had any idea what to draw for her. Last night's drawing came easy and he knew that she would love it. Well as much as a baby could love something that wasn't her pacifier or putting her arm in an empty paper towel role or singing the colors song over and over again…she had better have learned her colors by now because he did not want to sing that song again he'd be hearing it in his nightmares….and stuff…

He had used plenty of colors in this picture. She liked colors.

"Sho, you know you can't wake her up. She's little and she needs to sleep." Said Fukuda. Sho didn't know what he looked so worried about. Sho wasn't about to go and wake the baby and even if he had been about to go and wake the baby it wouldn't be that bad. She didn't cry that loudly. Fukuda just wasn't used to babies.

Sho wondered why he'd never had any kids.

Sho bet that if Fukuda had a kid then he and him could be best friends…unless he had a girl. In that case she could be best friends with big sis. He wished that Fukuda had kids and it seemed sort of weird that he hadn't even though he and dad were the same age. People dad's age got married and had kids. That was just what you were supposed to do whether you liked it or not. At least that was Sho's understanding of it. That was what dad was always saying. Sho couldn't imagine what else could have made dad have him unless it was just one of those things that had to happen. Like how you had to learn to walk and talk and read and write and crush yours hair and take your shoes off in people's houses.

"I know not to wake her up, I'm not a moron, I just want to leave this under her front door." Said Sho. Fukuda looked at him and then at the drawing. He was thinking. There wasn't anything to think about, as far as Sho was concerned, because he could be trusted not to wake Mukai up. He was a good big brother.

He knew that he was.

"Fine, but be quick about it. There's something I want to show you out in the woods." Said Fukuda. Sho decided to hurry since Fukuda told him to…and also for himself. He didn't want to cry again. He had been crying a lot lately and he didn't know why. Back home he got mad all the time, so the crying was sort of an improvement. He didn't want to be mad or sad…but it was hard when he had to leave his little sister…his pretend little sister…baby sis.

He loved her so much.

And that was why he had drawn this picture of the two of them together. She was a baby and had trouble remembering things. He could have just taken a picture but drawings were better. Drawings had love in them. His love. Anyone could take a picture but not everyone could draw like he could. Even dad said that he was good at drawing, that he was a good artist, and…and that was something that he could do. Something that he wasn't terrible at.

So he drew something for little sis.

"See you later, baby sis, I'll come back and see you again as soon as I can." Whispered Sho as he slipped the drawing under the door. He could see her aura through the walls. It had gotten a lot brighter since they first met. Maybe she would be super powerful when she grew up. He hoped so. Then she could end up a Scar or in the upper echelon and then they could be friends and hang out when he grew up and stuff. He couldn't wait for her to be old enough to remember him and for them to hang out all the time and stuff. But right now she was just a baby.

And he had to go.

Finding Fukuda was a little bit hard. There were a lot of blank spots in her perceptions. Curse rooms. He hated curse rooms. He had never been in one but he really hated the idea of them. Rooms meant to take away powers. He had been without his powers for most of his life, since he had been small, and he had been through a lot to awaken them. He never wanted to be without his powers again…and he never wanted to go anywhere near an awakening lab again either.

He hated this place.

If this place hadn't been baby sis' home then he would have gotten rid of it. When he got to be in charge of Claw he would have had this Division torn down and anywhere else where they made new Awakened. He hoped that dad left him in charge soon because then he could move little sis' mom to another branch of Claw where they didn't do terrible things to you so that you would get your powers. He didn't know any other way to awaken people so maybe they would just stop having Awakened all together. Yes, that would be good.

He never wanted anyone else to go through that.

Even if Fukuda said that it was ok because the Awakened all volunteered for the procedure. Even Sho had…and he still would have even knowing what happened to you while you were in there…but he still didn't wish that on anyone else. Good thing it looked like baby sis was a baby Prodigy. That meant that she would never have to go through that….and he was happy…and if anyone tried to put her through that he would have no choice but to kill them. Nobody hurt his baby sis.

He could feel the Awakened coming closer.

And he could feel the lab, too. He could expand his passive perceptions to feel the lab and all of the Awakened that came out of it. He didn't want to feel those things but, also, he didn't want to lose the feeling of baby sis. She was still asleep in her crib. She had a real crib now, not a drawer, and it had pink sheets and a mobile of pink birds…actually her whole room was pink. Because she was a girl and girls like pink. He wondered if she would still be in her crib the next time he saw her or if she would have a bed by then.

He had no idea.

But he did know that it was time to get back to Fukuda so they could leave. It had turned out to be a quick fix, he said, but he also said that he was sorry. Even though he didn't have to be sorry. Sho was sad to leave his little sis so soon, a lot sooner than he had planned, but he was also happy that no more of the Awakened would come out stupid. He was glad that he hadn't come out stupid. He just came out with a lot of cool scars and some awesome powers.

And also a lot of nightmares.

But he hadn't had any while he had been there. No, he had borrowed another one of baby sis' little baby socks and he was sleeping with that. It made him feel better, like she was there with him, and sometimes he even felt her aura in his sleep. He even woke up, once, expecting her to be there sleeping in a drawer on the bedroom floor. But she wasn't there. She didn't sleep in drawers anymore anyway.

She had her own crib to sleep in now.

She would get older and she would sleep in a bed and be able to sit up and chew her food and not cry whenever she needed something….and he couldn't wait. He couldn't wait for her to be older, for them to be able to draw together. But for right now…right now he was happy. Happy and sad at the same time. He wanted to stay with her, he never wanted to leave her, and…and he had to remember that…that he was would see her again.

This wasn't goodbye. This was just see you later.

"Was it hard saying goodbye again?" asked Fukuda when Sho caught up to him. He was handed his backpack full of stuff. Fukuda had his bag over his shoulder. The Awakened were already going in and cleaning up. Sho wondered what the next people who stayed in that room would be like. He wondered what the last people who stayed in that room would be like.

He wondered if he would ever stay here again.

"It wasn't goodbye, it was just see you later." Said Sho

"Yeah…about that. You know that it could be a while until you see her again, right?" asked Fukuda

"Yeah, I know, but I can wait for things. You said that if you told dad I did good on this mission then he would send me on others. Then I could sneak away and see Mukai and we'll draw together and stuff." Said Sho

"You could…but you have to be patient." Said Fukuda

"I can be patient. I'm the most patient." Said Sho. Fukuda laughed and shook his head.

"Sho. You eat poptarts raw because you don't want to wait for them to warm up in the toaster." Said Fukuda

"That's how you're supposed to eat them. Who puts them in the toaster?" said Sho

"They're supposed to go in the toaster, Sho, that's why they call them 'poptarts' because they pop right up when they're done." Said Fukuda. Sho shook his head. Fukuda just didn't know about good food. Obviously if you put a poptart in the toaster then it would get all…warm and gooey and just…not be good.

"When we get back I'm going to show you how to eat a poptart." Said Sho. He hoped that there were some left and big sis hadn't eaten them all. It was so hard to send the Awakened out for things sometimes. They had trouble coming back with the right stuff. Well maybe the next batch would be smarter because Fukuda and those other guys had fixed it so they wouldn't end up so messed up in the head.

"I'm looking forward to it…but first there's something out in the woods that I want to show you. Remember?" asked Fukuda. He was looking everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Sho didn't know what was with him. Playing in the woods was awesome! He and Shibata and Shimazaki played in the woods whenever there were woods to play in. Even when there were prickle bushes or birds that pecked your head or even when you got throw too high and you went into a tree.

None of that happened when Fukuda took him out into the woods.

"I'm mostly sure that it was this way…we marked a trail…but that was thirty years ago." Said Fukuda as he led Sho through the thick bushes and trees. There wasn't any path that Sho could see. There was the occasional painted rock, though. They were painted in red…a very faded red…and some of them had something written on them.

"It should still be here. They had to build the HQ where the ground was better…" said Fukuda. Sho stopped following him for a minute. He wasn't going to get lost. He knew how to find auras. He just had to see this rock…what was written on it…

Oh. It said Claw.

That made sense. This was Claw, the Seventh Division was right there, so of course there would be a rock that said Claw on it. It just said Claw, though, there was a symbol but it was different than the normal Claw symbol. Sho knew that Claw symbol, it felt like he had been staring at it his whole life. He felt the rock. Some of the paint came off as he flipped it over in his hands. Something was painted on the bottom.

'President: Suzuki and Vice President. Tadashi: 1986'

"Sho? Sho? You shouldn't wander off. There are A LOT of snakes in these woods." Said Fukuda. Sho stared at the rock as he felt him get closer. Suzuki. He was Suzuki. He knew what Suzuki knew liked, the character, and he knew how dad wrote the character for their family name. Small and pointy. His strokes were too pointy and his writing was too small….and it always had been. 1986…that was a long time before he had even been born…and dad had written on that rock…

Why?

"Sho? You alright?" asked Fukuda. Sho nodded. He couldn't stop trying to imagine…little dad. Dad as a kid. Sho had no idea what year dad had been born in, that was the sort of thing that big sis kept track up, but he knew that since it had been such a long time ago dad would have been a kid….and he had trouble picturing his dad as a kid. He liked to think of Dad having just been born as he was now. Like making a Sim or something.

"I found this rock." Said Sho. He held it out for Fukuda. Fukuda frowned, then smiled, and then repeated that until he got this sort of half smile thing.

"I remember that…good eye, Sho. You found the way." said Fukuda. Sho put the rock down where he found it. Fukuda led him through some trees. There were more of those rocks on the ground and they all said 'Claw' on them with different symbols. Now that he knew what to look for he could see that dad had written on some of them…but why? The more they walked the more rocks they saw…and he could not see dad going around painting rocks all day.

That wasn't like him at all.

"Fukuda? Where are we going?" asked Sho. The grass was high, the sun was out, and he was in long sleeves and long pants. He wanted to know where he was going…because he had no clue. This was…it felt like dad might have PLAYED in the woods…but that was crazy. Dad, playing in the woods? What next? Having friends and not being a total and complete jerk?

"You'll see. If I remember right then it should be here…and also if people haven't found it yet. It wouldn't have been much of a secret base if people found it now would it…God he was thorough." Said Fukuda. He muttered the last part to himself. Sho followed him.

This was kind of a fun adventure.

But also it was hot and there was sun and bugs. Still, he followed Fukuda. He followed him into the woods until they came to a clearing. This was a good place to build a secret woods fort. He and Shimazaki and Shibata had tried to build one once but Shibata was too big and Shimazaki had trouble paying attention to things…but it had still been fun…even if there had been a lot of prickle bushes…and also the momma bird had not liked them playing with her babies…but it had still been a fun time.

Whoever built this secret woods had obviously had a fun time.

It was nailed together with real wood, not sticks and stuff like his had been, and inside there were dirty plastic chairs and part of a rug and there were bookshelves and an old timey radio and TV and…and Sho had to get closer. He tried to step closed but Fukuda stopped him.

"I wouldn't…wouldn't go inside if I were you. See how the roof is sagging there? And all that black stuff on the rug? It's not safe in there." said Fukuda. His voice sounded kind of scratchy there. Sho didn't get it and he didn't care too much. That fort was awesome! Maybe it hadn't been dad's handwriting that he had seen before. He couldn't imagine dad building a fort in the woods. Especially not one with windows and furniture…and the door had fallen off…and also what used to be a swing it looked like.

"But I want to play in the fort! Come on, it looks like fun and anyway you're a healer." Said Sho. He wanted to see if that old timey TV worked and what those books on the shelf were….if they ever were anything anymore because he saw some black squares that used to be books next to them…and also he wanted to see I there were toys in there or treasure or something else cool!

Fukuda's hand was on Sho's shoulder.

He tenses up…and he doesn't know why. This was Fukuda, not dad, and he wasn't going to hit him or throw him or anything like that. Fukuda wasn't like that. He was sort of…he wasn't normal but he wasn't mad. His aura was still calm, too, but his face had this far away and wide awake look to it…and Sho didn't get it…but he stopped trying to play in the fort.

"You can…you can get close but you can't go in. How about that? Deal?" asked Fukuda. He still had that look on his face. Sho nodded. He didn't want to upset Fukuda. He was tired of people being upset with him. Sometimes people were just…upset with him.

"Ok…but are you…mad at me?" asked Sho. Fukuda shook his head.

"No, it's not you. This is just…a lot of old memories. I helped build this thing, you know. Me and your dad built this when we were thirteen…God. I can't believe that it was so long ago." Said Fukuda

"You and….MY DAD? Seriously? You and my dad built this awesome fort? But dad hates forts." Said Sho

"Yup. Your dad and I built this thing from scratch. He did most of the work but I sourced the materials…like usual." Said Fukuda

"But…are you sure it was dad? My dad? The redheaded guy with the blue eyes that are always bored even when he's mad? The guy that sleeps in his suit and stuff? The guy who eats bread dipped in ketchup for a snack? That dad?" asked Sho. He must have been losing his hearing. He must have spent too much time with baby Mukai, her crying must have damaged his hearing, because dad was not the sort of person who has fun and stuff…..even when he was a kid. I don't think that my dad EVEN was a kid." Said Sho. It would explain the rocks…but then there would be further questions. Like why dad had built this fort in the first place. And why he had made a path with rocks to find it when he could have just built a million more like how he built bases everywhere he went. And who that other rock painted was. Tadashi.

"Yup, the one and only. We were….back then we were friends and we had been hanging out for a while talking about….about Claw. It started off as a game for me but then he…get this. Ok. Your dad let himself in through my window and woke me up at five in the morning on a Saturday to drag me out to the woods where he'd found the perfect spot for the First Division of Claw." Said Fukuda. He laughed but it didn't make it to his eyes or his aura. Sho didn't know why he was trying to make himself laugh. That was not a funny story. There was nothing funny about someone waking you up early in the morning…nothing funny at all.

"But…this is the Seventh Division…and also dad doesn't build forts or have any fun at all. He hates fun. If fun was a person he'd have him beat up so bad he never showed his face around dad again." said Sho

"This…the story behind this Division is complicated…and to tell you we have to make another stop before we leave….a stop that we need to make. I'm sorry for all the stops, and for dragging you out here, I just thought that you should know….just know some history. God knows your dad wasn't ever going to take you out here." Said Fukuda. Sho….he didn't know what to feel. His head was still spinning. Dad had built a fort….with Fukuda….who had been dad's friend when they were kids, a real friend, because you did not just go and build a fort with anyone…and dad had fun back then…just like Sho did…

Dad had built this.

There's anger…and tears. Angry tears. He blinks them away as soon as they appear. He walks away from Fukuda and over to where there's part of a swing hanging. He pushed the rope back and forth while he digs his foot into the ground. Dad….dad had been a kid and he liked to have fun and he built…this….and he had never been planning no showing Sho…his own kid…

But Fukuda had.

Fukuda had taken him to this place….and dad never would have. Dad had never thought that his own so would have liked to have seen the coolest fort in the world…or even that his own son would have wanted to build a fort with him…but this was…this was ok because at least Fukuda cared about him enough to bring him here.

"I-I'm happy that you brought me here…I guess. I just…dad built this fort? With you? And he painted the rocks, too?" asked Sho

"Well I painted the rocks but your dad wrote on them. Yeah, he was trying out different insignia's for Claw. It was this game that we played back then…well it was for me. Your dad…he always took it really seriously. I mean, look at this place. I can't believe it's still standing after thirty years…feels like ninety…feels like ninety." Said Fukuda. Sho didn't know how it could have felt like ninety years had passed when he was only dad's age. Dad may have been old but he was nowhere near ninety.

Sho didn't get it.

He started to explore. He didn't go into the clubhouse, he wanted to but Fukuda had said no, so he just walked around it. He found more painted rocks, some of what used to be books it looked like, and a metal box half buried in the ground. Fukuda was off on the other side saying stuff to himself like he couldn't believe it and stuff. Sho didn't know what there was and was not to believe. It was there, the fort, and Fukuda must have figured it had still have had to be there…right?

Right?

Well Sho didn't know what to believe anymore. Dad used to be a kid and he did stuff like play games and build forts with his friends…and also he had friends…and also….also Claw had started out here. He had never given much thought to a world before Claw. There had always been Claw even if he hadn't been entirely sure what it was. But it had started…here….in the woods. Fukuda had thought that it was just a game that dad had been playing.

And dad did not play games.

Even if this old videogame looking thing had 'Suzuki' written across the back. It was partially covered by blue stuff coming from the batteries on the game but it clearly said 'Suzuki'. Most of the things in this box did. There was another Gameboy looking thing and a yo-yo and another book…this one was Gundam…and it said Tadashi on the front….and also there was a notebook.

'Property of Suzuki Touichirou. Do not read. Unauthorized readers will be killed on sight. That means you too Fukuda Tadashi'.

Sho didn't think. He just put the notebook in his backpack.

He didn't know what he was going to do with it but he did know that he could not put it back in the ground. Not when it had dad's secrets. He needed to know dad's secrets. What else had he been hiding for all of these years? What else had he been keeping from Sho? He needed to know. He needed to know and he needed to show…he couldn't show big sis. She would tell dad that he and Fukuda had been to his secret fort…and he knew she would tell because she told dad everything. That was why he didn't want to tell anyone…and no other reason but that….and it was ok because she didn't have to know anything about this anyway.

She knew enough about dad as it was.

There was a space in the box, now, where the notebook had been…and Sho didn't feel good resealing and reburying the metal box in the cold ground with that space in it. It didn't look right and it didn't feel right…and he didn't want to put the notebook back…but he also…he wanted to…he could put something of his own back in…just to fill up the space. Something that mattered to him…because this place mattered to Fukuda. It may not have mattered to Dad but it mattered to Fukuda.

Sho put his sketchbook in the box.

That sketchbook had soda on it anyways. Maybe it was better off buried for the next thirty years. Yeah, then he wouldn't be reminded of how it had been ruined…and also it would be there for when he brought his Son out there…if he had a Son…and if he wanted to bring his Son there…because it was not his fort. This was Dad and Fukuda's…who had been called Tadashi for all these years and Sho had never known…and…and this was not his fort…

It said Suzuki and he was a Suzuki.

The box said Suzuki, too, and dad had buried his stuff in there. Why he did that Sho would never know. Why he did any of the stuff that he did Sho would never know. He would never know why dad had kept this from him or why he had changed so much…or maybe not at all because Sho hadn't read the notebook yet….and he would never know why…what had made dad become the way he was. The fun hating, mean, jerk of a guy he was. What had made dad turn into…that? And how could Sho avoid it? Or was it destiny? Would he keep this place from his Son, too? If he even had a Son? And why did dad even have a Son in the first place if he wasn't going to share fun stuff like this with him? What was the point of even having a Son? Why not just have a Daughter, in that case, and only a Daughter? Girls hated this stuff….Sho didn't know why. Sho didn't know anything anymore…and he would never know anything…but that was…he didn't know.

But he did know why he buried that sketchbook. This was a place where you hid things you liked, right?

Well he liked to draw.