Height rules were really more like suggestions.

At least that was how it went for Sho and Mukai. Normal people would have probably died if they road this rollercoaster and they were too short, like they would fly out or something. That would have been bad since they wouldn't have been able to fly. Well Sho could, and he bet Mukai could too if she practiced, but she was three so she didn't know how to practice yet. That was fine, Sho could hold onto her with telekinesis. He was a good big brother, he wouldn't let go no matter what.

Even if she did have really sharp nails.

"Sho! That! Go on that!" said Mukai as she pointed to the big rolling coaster. She had only been on little rolling coaters before, they didn't do big loops like that one. She was going to go on that thing even if she had to break away from Sho and get in line on her own. She wished that Ryou had been here, he was good at skipping lines. Sho always stood in them. Sho was a lot like Shigeko. She stood in lines too even though they didn't have to.

Lines were for other people, Ryou had said so.

"I know, I know, but we have to wait in line." Said Sho as Mukai tried to pull herself free. He held onto her hand tighter, there was no way he was going to lose her here. It would have been one thing if he'd lost her in Japan, at least in Japan everyone spoke Japanese, but here they spoke a bunch of different kinds of Chinese and also English. Mukai didn't speak anything other than Japanese so if someone found her they wouldn't be able to understand that she had a big brother here and then they'd take her to an orphanage or sell her or something like that.

He held on tighter.

Her little nails were super sharp. He wondered if all little kids had claws or if it was just her. He remembered that he used to scratch Big Sis a lot when he'd been little but he didn't think that his nails were quite as sharp as Mukai's. She was breaking through the skin in his hand, he could feel it, but he let her. She couldn't actually hurt him in any serious way. She was still too little to hurt him in any real way…not that she would have.

She was his sister and sisters didn't hurt you like that.

"No, no lines! I want to go now!" said Mukai. She tried to throw herself on the ground but Sho still held onto her arm. Now she was just hanging there…and not in a fun way!

"Baby Sis, come on….people are looking." Said Sho. He had, technically, stolen Mukai from her Mom. Tsuchiya had said that Mukai couldn't go to Ocean Park because she had escaped while everyone was asleep again and she was getting too old to be doing things like that. Sho disagreed. Mukai was the best little sister in the world and she didn't deserve to be punished, ever, for anything. If Big Sis had been around then she would have backed him up and Tsuchiya would have had to listen to her, but she was still gone, and Dad…well Sho wasn't ever going to go to Dad about anything.

"Not a baby! Not a baby anymore!" said Mukai. People were looking at her, now, and saying things that she couldn't understand. Why did they always have to go to places where she didn't know what people were saying? Why couldn't people just talk normal. Someone stepped off to the side and pointed. Sho said something in their same weird words…why were words so complicated! She knew how to talk, everyone said she was a good talked, but then they said stuff just to confuse her and-hey!

The line was moving!

She let Sho picked her up. She didn't mind if he carried her so long as the line was moving. Ryou would have been the best for this, he could skip lines, but Shibata might have been good too because she could ride on his shoulders and be giant Mukai instead of normal sized Mukai. Mama wouldn't have been fun, though, because she had been really mean lately. Mukai didn't even know what she did. She just wanted to go and play with Sho and Caterpillars and Mama was too sleepy to take her to them. She knew how doors worked, how to open them with her colors, and she knew where Sho and Caterpillars lived so she wouldn't get lost. Mama could be so unfair sometimes!

Mukai was not a baby anymore.

She was big, now, especially since she was riding on Sho's back now. He was big too…everyone was bigger than her. She saw people who were her size but they probably talked funny like everyone else here. She'd never had a friend her own size before but it would have maybe been nice. Someone who liked to play the games that she played and didn't treat her like a baby. Someone who fit on all the same things she fit on, like the good swings at the park that weren't too high so you could push yourself. She kind of wanted a Shigeko, but a Shigeko who was her size. A girl who lived in your house and knew how to play dolls with you and stuff. A Mama but also not a Mama…actually if Mukai was bigger then she could have been the Mama…that would have been great. But she wasn't the Mama or the Shigeko, she was the Mukai…

At least she was still little enough, as the Mukai, that she still got shoulder rides from people.

"Come on, Sho, come on!" said Mukai as she kicked Sho in the chest.

"I'm walking as fast as I can, stop kicking me! We have to pick a cart, I think towards the back so we get thrown around more, and then-" said Sho. A hand was thrown out in front of him just before he managed to get through the gate. The guard guy shook his head, pointed to the height sign, and then pointed to Mukai.

"Too small." Said the attendant.

"She's not! She's taller, see?" asked Sho. Mukai didn't understand, she was still kicking him…she could kick hard…but he was going to get her on this ride no matter what. There was no way in hell he was going to disappoint her. He was her big brother and…and he knew what it was like when your big siblings let you down.

"Too small! Next!" shouted the attendant.

"Don't worry, Mukai, I'll get you on…so stop kicking me already!" said Sho. He wished that she would have just given it a rest for five seconds. Her feet were surprisingly hard for someone her size…and also shoes were kind of gross. She had been walking around the city all day and now she was kicking him in the chest…this was alright and she was alight. She was little, she didn't know any better, and she was way too disappointed in him right now. He had to get her on that rollercoaster or she would never, ever, trust him again. He didn't know what he would do if that ever happened. He was a good big brother. He hadn't been much of a little brother but he could still be a good big brother. He was going to get her on this roller coaster even if they had to go home, put on disguises, learn to teleport, set up a diversion, parachute in-

-or they could just go over the fence.

Sho pulled Mukai off of his back, no way was he fence jumping with her balanced liked that, and then off they went. Really it was easy. He just used his powers to help him jump high, ran with his hand over Mukai's mouth, jumped into the first car he found, and then sat in a way that nobody noticed he had a three year old next to him. It had been easy.

Until the bar went down.

He hadn't expected it to go down and miss Mukai completely…she had been sitting too near the edge…and also her feet didn't reach the ground yet. Right…right. This was…he could still hold her down with his powers. He had no choice at this point…but she had a choice. She didn't have to keep on trying to stand up like that. Ok, so he was going to have to keep her sitting down, make sure nobody noticed her, and also keep her from flying out of this thing and dying…how hard could it be?

Pretty hard…and pretty easy.

He was strong as far as espers went. He was strong and…and he could do this. He held Mukai down into her seat with his powers and then…well and then he kept on holding her down. She was fighting to get free, both with her powers and her little arms, but she was too small. Sho was the big brother here, not the little brother, and he had this.

Until the first loop.

She fell out, a little bit, on that first loop. Not enough that she died! Just…he didn't always have a grip on her…but to be fair it had been surprising to him too! He hadn't been expecting it to be so fast and…and maybe he was a little scared too but….but he had to be brave here! He had seen enough of those horrible accident shows to know what would happen if he let is sister fall out. He held her in place, it was easier on the second loop. The loops weren't so bad and…and Mukai was laughing. He was doing this right…he had this!

That had been the longest minute or whatever in his life.

He carried Mukai off fast. People were pointing at them and saying stuff, he didn't stay long enough to hear what they were saying. Right, this was the hard part…one of the hard parts. Getting out of here without people noticing that Mukai had been on the ride too. He…he had this! He picked her up and carried her away as people shouted after them. He didn't stop until he was deep into the crowd. Mukai was fighting him the entire time…

He didn't get her.

Didn't Mukai have any idea how close she had come to dying! She could have fallen out and died at any point and she…she was still fighting with him! Why did she have to be like this?! She was acting just like…just like he had acted when he'd been little. He put her down and let her walk through the crowd, only holding her by her hand. He had been really bossy there, she didn't like being carried when she wanted to walk, but…but she needed him to be bossy. She was only three and he knew better. He should have thought before just…just trying to make her happy no matter what it took. He should have been more like Big Sis, Big Sis would have never let him do something so dangerous, even though she loved him. Sure she could be bossy, but that was part of being older, and show... show understood now. Well, he understood better period. He still didn't understand all the things she did, the things that hurt him, the things that she knew he didn't like, the way that she still baby him even though they were the same age practically. He didn't understand her completely, but he understood her better.

Just better.

"Sho! No! I want to walk! I'm better now! I can walk!" shouted Mukai. That had been the most fun thing in the world! It had been a little scary but no more scary than when Shibata tossed her in the air, it was a good kind of scary. Sho was being mean, though, not letting her walk on her own. She wanted to go again! Why was Sho walking this way?! The rolling coaster was that way!

"Yeah, yeah, yeah I'm letting you walk…but over there. I need to sit down, I just need a minute." Said Sho as he pointed to the row of benches. Mukai tugged him backwards.

"No, again! I want to go again! Right now!" said Mukai as she tried to pull them back. Why did Sho have to be so strong?! Why did he have to be so mean!? She was big, she knew where she wanted to go, and Ryou would have taken her back! Or Shigeko! Or someone else that was more fun than Sho!

"You want…are you crazy!?" shouted Sho. He covered his mouth, people were looking, and dragged Mukai with his arm and his powers. She dragged her feet and tried to get free. People wee looking at them, now, and saying stuff in hushed tones. Probably about how he wasn't a good enough big brother…

He was doing his best!

He sat Mukai down next to him and let her kick him. She was kicking his shins, now, and telling him that they needed to go back. Why? Why dd she want to do something so dangerous? Sho had…well he hadn't even thought about how dangerous it was until they had been about to die…well maybe she didn't know. He was the bigger siblings, the big brother, and he was the one who was supposed to take care of her…

He had done a pretty bad job of it.

"Right now! Come on, Sho, come on!" said Mukai

"Mukai…wait, just….here. Play with my phone." Said Sho. He handed Mukai his phone and sat her down on the bench next to him. That got her quiet. He loved her, he really did, but he needed a minute…no wonder Big Sis was high all the time. He kind of wanted to smoke…but Shimazaki had always said not to break the rules unless you could make a quick escape. Sho didn't know how to teleport. He'd tried to learn but he just…he didn't know how to…

He didn't know how to do a lot of things….

He couldn't keep her safe and…he took a deep breath. He had made a mistake. Big Sis could have done much better job than he had but she was Big Sis….and she wasn't there. She had left him and…and she had said that she was coming back but that was a long time ago…she had left him and now he was here and…and he was doing the best he could!

His best just wasn't good enough.

He hung his head low….and then Mukai tugged on his hair. No, wait, she was rubbing his head. His phone was in her other hand…she was going to drop it. He reached out to take it from her but she just put it down the front of her overalls and slapped his hand away. He looked up. She shook her head and made her most serous face.

Now he kind of wished that he had his camera, at least then he could have taken a picture.

"No, Sho, no phone. You're sad, you have to cry now." Said Mukai

"But I don't feel like crying." Said Sho

"You cry right now! Get the saddies out! Now!" said Mukai as she tried to shake Sho. He wasn't crying even though Mama had said that when you felt sad then you had to get your saddies out so then you had room for being happy. Sho wasn't crying but she didn't know why. Sho knew how to cry. She had seen him cry, he did it almost every night, and during the day when they'd been on the plane too. He cried because he had to leave Ritsu behind, that was his friend he drew pictures of. Mukai didn't know why he'd cried then since he still had the pictures and she didn't know why he wasn't crying now since he was so obviously sad!

Sho was so confusing sometimes, all big people were.

"But I don't have to cry, I'm fine. I just…I'm not sad, I was just scared. I thought…you're too little to know but you could have gotten really hurt and it would have been my fault. I should have thought about how hard it would be to hold onto you. I don't know….Big Sis would have done a better job." Said Sho softly. Mukai reached over and handed him his phone.

"Here. Call Shigeko. Call your Mama and don't be sad." Said Mukai as she handed Sho his phone. She knew how sad it was when you missed your Mama. Mama…now Mukai missed her Mama…

"Call….call Big Sis?" asked Sho. She…she did have a point. He had a phone, Big Sis had a phone, and of course he was free to call her phone with his phone…and he was going to. Any minute now…but…but if he did then what if she had been in the middle of something? What if she and…what if she and Shimazaki…why did she have to like him?! it wasn't like he liked Shimazaki anymore but…but he just…it was really weird and she should have thought about how he felt before she went and….and fell in love with him or whatever!

"Yes. Right now." Said Mukai

"But…uh…come on, let's ride something else and…and we can call Big Sis later." Said Sho as he got up. He…he wasn't telling the truth. Not totally. He'd talk to her again but he just…he didn't want to call her. Not now and probably not in the future either. He loved her but…but it was still weird and…and he had to tell her that Fukuda wasn't blackmailing her anymore…but not how Mukai had nearly flown out of a rollercoaster. She didn't need to know about that….nobody did.

Height rules were rules, not suggestions. Sho knew that now.