Sometimes Sho liked to go to the park.

That was the only reason he had agreed to come here with Fukuda. He was here to play with baby sis and that was all. Parks were fun, a hell of a lot more fun than being back at the Division. There was stuff to do here like…like watching baby sis play with the other babies. She was crawling in and out of the baby tunnels with some other kids. Sho would have played with her if he wasn't too big to fit in there now. He was eleven and this part of the park was for people her age…and it wasn't like he wanted to move to the big part of the park, the part for kids his age, he didn't want to do that at all. That part of the park wasn't safe for baby sis.

And she was the one who mattered there. She was the one who he had to think about.

"Knock, knock." Said Sho as he knocked on the top of the tunnel. There was some laughing. The other babies were in there with her. She had taught them this game. Knock, knock and come in. That was where he knocked on something and then she told him to come in….hey, she was only two. He cut her some slack. She'd have better games when she got older.

If he was even still around by then.

He'd been here for too long. He'd been here for weeks and weeks…and also big sis might have known that he was here. Minegishi did…but maybe nobody would listen to them. They were Minegishi, what did they have to say besides mean stuff and complaints. If he had been big sis then he wouldn't have listened to Minegishi…or been friends with them either…but he wasn't big sis. He was himself. He was himself and…and he might have been in trouble…

Big sis hadn't said anything….and that could have been good or bad.

He knocked on the tunnel again. He was not going to look at his phone. He was not going to take his phone out of his pocket and just…check and see if big sis had called him or texted him or left him a message or…or something. He didn't even know what she was going to say to him. She was probably pissed at him…if she even knew…but he wasn't going to just call her up and ask her if she knew.

No, that would have been stupid.

"Who's there?" asked baby sis

"Your big brother." Said Sho

"Come in!" said baby sis. Sho stuck his head in the tunnel…and then got slapped in the face. Not hard, she wasn't that strong, and she didn't want to hurt him anyway. That was just how the game was played. He knew that he should have told her not to hit, that hitting was wrong and that she had to be nice and stuff, but…well he didn't want to do that. He didn't want to ruin what little time they had left together being all…Fukuda….about stuff.

She was having fun and that was what mattered.

"Go away!" shouted baby sis. She didn't mean that in a mean way either. This was just how she played. Come in and go away were some of her favorite games. She just…could be like that sometimes. Maybe because he had hung around her for so long. Maybe she just picked stuff up from him or something.

He wondered what she would have picked up from big sis.

She probably would have been nicer. Big sis was nice all the time. Even when she didn't have to be nice she still wasn't. Like maybe that was what she was doing now. Maybe she was pissed, super pissed, but she wasn't going to say anything to him. Maybe that was why she hadn't called, not even to say 'hi' because she was so pissed at him that if she so much as heard his voice she would get mad…and she hated getting mad…

But that felt…worse…somehow.

He knocked on the tunnel again. This time baby sis just stuck her foot out and kicked him. She wasn't trying to be mean…and he didn't want her to be mean. He didn't want either of his sisters to be mean to him…but it might have been easier if big sis was mean. If she called him up screaming and telling him to fuck off and that she wished that he had never been born and that she had been an only child…well things would have been easier….they would have made more sense, anyway. She would have been more like him…and dad. She was like….she wasn't even like mom. Mom had run away from home because she was unhappy…probably with him. He had been such an asshole back then. Maybe if he had been nicer…if he hadn't fought so much with big sis…if he hadn't pissed dad off so often…if he hadn't fought with the kids at school….just….maybe if he had been better then mom would have stayed and…

It had happened. It was over. Now he had to focus on baby sis.

He wasn't going to leave her…even though he knew that he had to…and soon. He had to leave before big sis…well she wasn't mom. She wasn't going to leave. First of all dad would never let her leave…but dad hadn't exactly given mom permission to leave…no. This was…he was….he had to go soon because he had his family and his friends and stuff….but he wasn't going to leave. Not like mom did. Not like how mom just…left one day…even though that was how it seemed to baby sis…

He knocked again.

"Who is it?" asked baby sis

"It's your big brother." Said Sho even though he knew that he wasn't her big brother. Not from blood, anyway, but maybe it didn't always have to work like that. Dad was the only one who cared about the bloodline. Baby sis had been adopted so her mom wasn't her blood…so maybe he could be her big brother. Even if they didn't have the same blood….he was going to rule the world some day. When he ruled the world then he would tell everyone that blood didn't mean anything.

But that was a long time away.

"Come in!" said baby sis. Sho stuck his head in the tunnel…and then got poked in the eye. Baby sis laughed, and so did some of the other babies, but Sho didn't mind. It was funny. If baby sis thought that it was funny then it was funny…even if his eye hurt now.

Kind of a lot.

She had sharp little nails. Her mom had asked him to cut her nails a while ago…but he hadn't. She didn't like it and he didn't want to make her unhappy. Besides, when her nails got long enough then she would just bite them off on her own like he did. They were her nails and if she wanted to grow them out until she had little baby claws then that was her choice.

And if she wanted to claw his eyes out then….well that was her choice too.

"Damn it…" muttered Sho as he held his eye. It actually hurt worse with time, not better, and…well she had been playing in the sand earlier. She had been playing in the sand and also she had been picking her nose and touching everything…so maybe this was what it was like to have an eye infection. Maybe he was going to end up going blind in one eye and then the other one would go blind too for symmetry and then Shimazaki would have to teach him to see with his aura and read braille and stuff.

Don't think about Shimazaki.

He forced himself not to think about Shimazaki. He forced himself not to think about how much it would have been if he had been here. He forced himself to focus on the pain in his eyes and…and not about how Shimazaki would have probably said something funny. Something about how now they matched or something. He didn't think about him at all.

He felt an aura getting closer.

That was Fukuda. He'd come too. He had said, before, that it was safer and better if he was there too. In case baby sis hurt herself again. Sho got the feeling that he was just there because baby sis's mom had been upset about what happened. Maybe Fukuda liked her or something. That would have made everyone's life a lot easier. If Fukuda liked baby sis's mom and she liked him back then they could get married and then he could be baby sis's dad and then Sho wouldn't have had to sneak around to see her and stuff…it would have been perfect…

Perfect.

But all of that had to happen before big sis called him…and that was most likely not going to happen. Girls didn't like Fukuda….not that Sho would say that to him. Not while he was fixing his eye and stuff. That would have been a jerk thing to say even though it was a fact. Girls didn't like Fukuda and even if he worked really hard at it, told baby sis's mom that she was pretty and got her a lot of presents, she still wouldn't have liked him. Sho didn't get why.

He was kind of old…and grumpy…and kind of a jerk to people too…but he was good at healing people and stuff too.

"See? Now isn't this better?" said Fukuda as he healed Sho's eye. That had been a bad scratch…but that was what he was here for. He was here to watch the kids and keep them safe…and nothing else. He wasn't here to walk down memory lane, even though aside from a new coat of paint and a new baby area this place hadn't changed in thirty years, and he wasn't here to…well he wasn't here for any other reason.

He wasn't retracing Sho's steps from the other day.

Even though it would have been easy. He used to live around here. He knew this neighborhood like the back of his hand. He knew…well if he'd had his detective hat on then he would have known that Sho's little boyfriend either went to Sesame elementary or Poppy Seed day school…if that school still went through the sixth grade. He also would have been able to see if…well if certain suspicions were true….

Ritsu was a common name.

Ritsu was an incredibly common name and this Ritsu….may not have been the same Ritsu as…well as the Ritsu that he had read about. Shigeko had a brother named Ritsu. He had access to those records. He had access to where she had come from, her parent's names and their address, and all of the updated information on them. Her brother was being watched to see if he had any powers…since they had come from the same source…

Fukuda prayed to God, whatever God was listening, that Shigeko was an outlier…because Claw did not need another one of her.

The world did not need another one of her. He didn't think that the world could survive. It was hard enough with the one Shigeko they had…and the one Touichirou they had. People…were not meant to be that powerful. One was…enough. Two…well he thanked God that she never fought her father outright. Three….the world would not survive three. He hoped that Sho's little boyfriend was just…some other Ritsu…from some other family…

That was all he hoped for.

"Yeah….I guess, I don't know." Said Sho as he rubbed his eye. He felt better and…and he knew that he needed to get back to playing with baby sis. Before it got crowded again. He could tell by the sun that it was getting late. The schools would be getting out soon…and maybe he would stop there again. Ritsu. Maybe him or…or that lady that he had seen before. The lady with the black hair that had looked like mom.

The lady who he knew was not his mom.

"You want me to push you on the swings? Or I could pick you up so you can do the monkey bars if you want." Said Fukuda. Sho was down. It was written all over his face and his aura. Fukuda knew how to cheer him up. He and Sho used to play together in the park, back when he'd been little, back in those days when he and Masami would pick the kids up from school and stop off at the park. Sho had always had fun in those days…and Masami had been happy that he had been so good with Sho…

Not that he was counting on seeing Masami again…or anything.

Masami…was not here. She was in…well he had no idea where she was but he knew that she wasn't here. She was…somewhere in hiding. Sho had just seen another woman. Another one with short black hair…and her face…and her voice. Fukuda was not going to get his hopes up…and he wasn't going to put his detective hat on either. He wasn't going to make connections like…if she had been in this park then she must have lived around here. This was all single family homes, and small ones at that. When he'd lived here this had been an area for people who worked in the city center…it wasn't that far from it…and if you walked another kilometer you would get to the old spice processing center…but that had closed down…and he didn't see her working in a place like that either…

Last he had heard from her she had been teaching English.

This was not the place to teach English…or Japanese. There were a lot of expats here, more than when he'd lived here back when he'd been a kid, but the English schools were closer to the high schools and the cram schools. Over in that area…the one that Suzuki used to live in...she would have been living there is she had been teaching English. Also she wouldn't have had any reason to have come to this park.

This was a family park.

There was the big rocket ship playground. There was this little baby area. There was a shelter for moms with strollers. There was a splash pad…that he couldn't remember being quite so elaborate. This was not the place for a single woman…and she was single. She wouldn't have…he knew her. Leaving her family had devastated her. She wouldn't have…there was a new dog run here. There, over where the old sculpture area had been, was a dog area. All fenced in with little hills and stuff for them to run on. That was why she had been here…she must have gotten a dog or something….and…

And he needed to stop thinking about this right now before Sho asked what was up.

Sho was already looking at him like he was crazy. That was…not good. Sho knew better about these things, about people, than his father. Sho could pick up on these things…things that Fukuda did not need him to pick up on. Sho did NOT need to go digging around in this area. Not yet. Fukuda would tell him the truth of what happened…but later. Not now.

Not while he was eleven.

"Fukuda….I'm eleven." Said Sho slowly. Just because they were in the baby part of the park didn't mean that he was a baby. If he wanted to play with a baby so bad then he could play with baby sis so Sho could…play on his own…and not wait for Ritsu or anything! Or that lady who looked like his mom!

"So? You're still a kid and-" said Fukuda

"I don't need you to help me anymore. I'm eleven, it would be weird if you pushed me on the swings and stuff. If you want to play with a baby then…play with baby sis or something. Just be careful. Her nails are sharp and she likes to hit." Said Sho. Maybe this would work out. Maybe if Fukuda played with baby sis then he would be all 'hey, I want one of these' and then he would be all 'but I'm really old and I don't have time to make one of these with a girl' and then he would realize that baby sis's mom didn't have a husband and then Sho could teach him how to get girls to like him…it was kind of sad that Sho knew more about girls even though he didn't even like them….and then everything would work out…and stuff….

Stuff never worked out like that.

"I…think that I'll just stay here with you two. We can play…whatever this is." Said Fukuda. He had been keeping his distance for a reason. He…well he didn't DISLIKE Suzuki's daughter but he just….wasn't comfortable around her. Her aura was too bright for someone her age…and she looked just like her father. Acted just like him too. He knew that Suzuki had been violent as hell when they'd met…and that hadn't changed…so it would have made sense that he would have been a violent child too.

Or rather toddler.

She reminded him of Sho, in a lot of ways, but she was not Sho and…and he just….had no idea what he was supposed to do with her. She was so little and he didn't know her…and he wasn't supposed to know her…and this was just…they needed to move on. Maybe this would be their last trip to the park. Maybe this would be it and then they could rejoin the others and get back to their lives. It had been months…they were overdue…

And aside from Suzuki's daughter they had no real reason to be here…

"It's knock, knock come in. Here, watch me." Said Sho. He went really slowly so Fukuda could remember how the game went. This was important if he was going to try and marry baby sis's mom and be her dad and stuff. Sho had always thought that he would have made a good dad…he had actually wished that Fukuda had been his dad….but him being baby sis's dad would have been the next best thing.

Then he never would have had to say goodbye ever again.

It would have been perfect. She would have been like his…cousin…or something. Dad and Fukuda were practically brothers, they had known each other for most of their lives and stuff. Yeah, then baby sis would have been like his cousin and then they could have played together all the time….and big sis could have been her friend too. Big sis might have even forgiven him for lying and sneaking around behind her back. Baby sis's mom would have had a good time too. She could have made friends with…um….Shimazaki liked fighting….but Sho didn't want…Shibata! She could have been friends with Shibata! He was nice and stuff…there. That was how it would work out…

If everything went right….which it never did….but there was always hope….

"You got it?" asked Sho. Fukuda nodded. That was good. More people were showing up now. Sho could sort of hear school bells. People were coming and it was about to get really crowded really fast. Sho closed his eyes and let his aura expand and…and he could feel…he felt a couple of aura. There were people he didn't know, faint people, and even some Awakened…which meant that Ritsu would be keeping his aura close and not using his powers….but he would still be coming here…he had to pass by here to get home.

School had just let out.

He had no idea how long it took Ritsu to walk home after school or if he was even coming at all…because he did stuff after school sometimes. Sho just…he could always come back tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day after that…if there even would be a day after that. He didn't know. He didn't even know where he would be waking up tomorrow. Any minute now big sis could call him and ask him where he was and….

And then he would have to go…and he had no idea when or even if he would be coming back.

He felt an aura come near…a new one…but that was another faint one. There was another kid with an aura, some people had them even if they weren't espers, and…well that was a little kid. Sho wasn't going to say anything. Fukuda might not have been able to feel it, his aura was so faint all the time and stuff, and Sho…well even if Fukuda was on his side he was not going to tell anyone about that other little kid.

People with auras could be Awakened after all.

That little kid, the little girl coming out of her car with her dad and little brother it looked like, had family. She had a family and if he said anything then she would end up losing that family. Also she was way too little to go through…all of that. Sho pulled his jacket closer. She probably didn't have any scars…not like he did…and he wanted to keep it that way. Nobody needed to go through what he had gone through, even some little kid he didn't know, so he did the right thing and kept his mouth shut about the other kid with the aura.

Fukuda was usually on his side but….well…still.

"Yeah, I get it. Um….knock, knock." Said Fukuda as he knocked on the tunnel. He felt her aura ripple. She was there…and he was not afraid of a two year old girl. An eleven….or rather twelve…year old girl, yes, but not a two year old. Even though her aura was so bright…bright enough that he could feel it against his….

"Who's there?" asked Mukai

"Fukuda….your…Sho's friend." Said Fukuda. He knew that Sho called himself her big brother…and he knew that it was true…but he didn't need to confirm that for anyone.

"Come in!" said Mukai

"Alright…here I go." Said Fukuda. He leaned his head into the tunnel…and got a kick right between his eyes. That wasn't what had hurt. Her aura…that was what had hurt. There was…it felt like…well like a burr would feel if it had buried itself in his skin. He felt…he closed his eyes and stepped away from hers. Her aura was flaring now and that would pass. He just had to take a step back and…

Oh.

There was someone behind him.

Someone he could sense.

"I-I'm so sorry…little girl." Said Fukuda. He had bumped into a little girl…a little esper girl. That was most definitely an esper child. He could see her aura…a faint sort of jade green. She looked up at him through a mop of brown curls. She was…studying him. She was studying him and he…had no idea what he was supposed to do. That was an aura he felt against his…not everyone with an aura could see other people's…but apparently she could. This was…nobody was going to know about this.

He knew what happened to child espers.

Nope. He was not going to be a part of that. That was where he drew his line. Children…did not belong in Claw. Suzuki saw no problem with kidnapping children but he was insane. Fukuda was not. He was not going to rip this girl away from her life and her family….he had to figure out what to do with her…because she didn't seem to show any signs of moving….

Great. Just great.

"Alright little girl…why don't you just move along now? How about that?" asked Fukuda. Someone was pulling on him…oh. That was Mukai. Sho was…off talking to another child. Another little girl was bothering him. He had to get over there and…yeah. He had to walk away. He could not be seen there standing and talking to kids that were not his. It just wasn't a good look. He turned to pick up Mukai…

And then turned back around.

Something picked at his aura. That was…not good. That meant that she had some control over what she could do…which meant that he wasn't the only person who would notice her. He should have done something…but that was not his kid. He already had a kid, well he had Sho, and he just…Sho came first. Sho always came first. He had to worry about his own kid before he worried about someone else's…

Even though someone else's kid was the one who didn't want to leave him alone.

"Little girl, why don't you-" said Fukuda as he tried to pick up Mukai…who really did not want to be picked up. Well that was too bad. Everything about Sho right at that moment said 'save me' and who better to save him but Fukuda. This other kid…he wished her the best.

What else could he do?

"I'm Madoka. Hirai Madoka." Said Madoka. She bowed when she said that, very polite, and even downright adorable. Shigeko had been that way when she'd been small. Not Sho, no, but Shigeko…back when she'd been that young. Back before any of this had happened. She had looked remarkably like that girl…or maybe not. He didn't know. There was just something so…familiar…about her…

Not that he was going to make it a habit to stare at little girls in a park. No, that was not a good look at all.

"Alright, Hirai-chan then. Why don't you just…go back to your family? Yeah, that seems like something you should-" said Fukuda

"You're green too. I've never seen another green person before. Mostly I just see red people." Said Madoka

"You shouldn't-" said Fukuda as he cringed. His eyes darted back and forth. Aside from a little boy pointing at him and jumping up and down…no one. Good. No awakened getting ready to stuff this little girl into a sack and carry her away.

"You're dark green, too, I'm light green. I've never seen anyone who was any kind of green before." Said Madoka

"Well…green is a good color. You have a green sweater and so do I. Excuse me." Said Fukuda. He was only drawing attention to her being right there….and that was why he had to leave. Right now. That and the little baby who was trying to pull on what little hair he had. Thank God he'd just cut it or he would have wound up like that little girl there. Now that was a mess of curls…she got enough attention as it was even with being a possible esper…

He didn't need to make it worse.

"No, I meant your colors. The ones that stick to people. Well some people. Not my mom or my dad or my little brother. Juro can't see them either. Just me." Said Madoka. She kicked woodchips as she said that.

"You…you shouldn't talk about-" said Fukuda He understood, he really did, the lifetime of being alone that came with being an esper. Always being different no matter where you want. Having to hide part of yourself for your own safety…

He wished her the best, he really did, but he didn't need to have this conversation with her right now.

"Dad! Madoka's talking to strangers! Punish her! Punish her!" said Juro

"Sorry about her, you know how it is. Madoka, come on. Leave the man and the baby alone." Said Eiji

"But dad! The colors!" said Madoka

"Some people have red hair, honey, now come on. Let's get all of our energy out before mom comes back from the doctor. She's growing a whole new person inside of herself, she's very tired." Said Eiji

"I…alright dad….nobody ever believes me anyway…" said Madoka

"Nice talking to…what am I saying? Come on, Mukai, let's go…play with Sho. Alright? How's that sound?" asked Fukuda. He held Mukai at eye level. She stopped struggling, now, and kicked her little feet. She kicked them out of happiness, it seemed, but that didn't make her little baby kicks to his chest any less painful.

"Sho! Go to Sho! Go now!" said Mukai

"Alright, alright, just stop hitting me….God…you're just like your father…" said Fukuda. She really was just like Suzuki. He had been such a violent kid….and it wasn't an esper thing. It was a Suzuki thing. That little girl, the one who had spoken to him, seemed very sweet. She was playing on the seesaw with her brother now…how that thing hadn't been removed by now he would never know…and instead of trying to knock her brother off as Suzuki had done to him in the past…well that was a good kid over there…not that he knew her…or spent much time staring at kids…

But he just…

She seemed familiar. There was just something…about her. He had seen her somewhere before…but where? No, he didn't…he had a squirming little human in his arms and an eleven year old he had to save. He had to focus on his own esper kid and nobody else's. He wished that little girl over there, the one with the mess of the curly hair, all the best in the world but he had Sho to worry about.

Sho who never stopped giving him reason to worry.

"Hey Sho, someone wants to play with-" said Fukuda. The little girl who had been talking to Sho ran away as he approached. Sho had a look of horror on his face….he knew that look. That was the look of a little boy who'd spent his whole life dealing with little girls bothering him. Poor Sho. Well at least he was there for him.

No matter what Sho said…or was going to say.

"We have to go home, now. Right now…don't ask me why!" said Sho. No…no way! That….that moron! Who did that moron think he was?! Hell no! There was no way in hell Sho was going to let Ritsu get kidnapped and thrown into an Awakening machine or…or….or….

That moron! That fucking moron!