Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this time of limited peace… especially for the one who experiences a special moment.

~保護者~

"Growing Bonds"

~保護者~

Shadow was still seated in the tree with his eyes closed, not exactly resting but allowing his thoughts to slowly wander around without any particular direction. It was a nice change from their earlier frantic pace. He might have almost managed to attain a measure of calm… had he not noticed something vaguely irksome. She is back. Why is she back? Already, he was pre-irritated. Perhaps that was unfair, but he wasn't particularly inclined to care about it.

Tyria climbed back up and regarded him curiously. "I have different questions."

Of course she does. Stifling a soft growl of annoyance, Shadow muttered, "What?"

"The other hedgehog in the home, the silver one, is he related to you?"

"And if he is?"

"I am merely curious. He is a stark contrast to you in aura."

Of fucking course he is. His personality is colored with Light. Making an effort to keep his exhaustion-fueled temper under wraps, Shadow answered with a simple, "He is my nephew."

"Then you have a brother or sister?" she asked, blinking once.

Technically it was both. He chose not to tell her that, for the sake of keeping this conversation brief. "Brother."

"Was he the blue hedgehog?"

"Yes." Shadow couldn't quite hide his frown now. He hoped she would leave soon.

She managed a small smile. "They both seem very pleasant, if nothing else." Shadow huffed and didn't comment. Maybe if he just stopped freaking answering her, she'd go away…

Whatever she might have said in response was cut short by near-silent footfalls below. Cracking an eye open, Shadow glanced downward. He watched as several shinobi jumped up onto the porch and disappeared inside. A couple of others soon followed, but one… one lingered. That wasn't what caught Shadow's attention though. No, it was the chameleon's unusual skin color. Instead of the standard purple or even somewhat pinkish-purple, this ninja has skin the color of pure onyx. The man's eyes were just as unique, seeming from this distance to be an almost white-ish grey. But, while these apparent genetically special traits were nothing more than surface-level curiosities, Shadow was momentarily curious about the stranger's demeanor. Unhurried, calm, sure of himself… then Shadow reminded himself that that was normal for a chameleon and that he didn't care, so he looked away.

Except… it seemed his staring had been noticed.

The unusual chameleon cast a glance over at the two within the tree and walked over calmly, raising an eyebrow and letting his gaze fall fully on the one who was looking at him. "Is there something you need?"

Being caught staring like some child was irritating in its own right, but Shadow opted not to voice that little thought. "...No," he responded sullenly.

"Is there a reason you were looking at me?" they asked curiously, blinking.

As if he could actually answer that and not sound like a damned weirdo. Fucking hell. "No," he said again, this time with a bit of a sigh.

The chameleon frowned faintly, crossing his arms. "Surely there is something. Perhaps my color? It is surely something that you would not be used to seeing even if you were accustomed with our society."

Inwardly, Shadow almost cringed. He knew what it was like to be on the receiving end of stares for looking… abnormal. He hadn't intended to do just that to someone else. But, at the same time, it wasn't as though apologizing was something he could easily do in any situation. Instead, he settled on a simple explanation of, "It was not intentional."

Whether the chameleon was bothered by this, it didn't show on his face. Instead, he gave a long and slow blink before nodding. "Soul. You are?"

Having fully expected a more Japanese-like name, as was custom with these people, Shadow was momentarily caught off-guard. Then the fact that this was likely some form of code name clicked. "...Shadow," he eventually responded.

Soul seemed temporarily caught off guard as well, having not expected the outsider's name to be something he would likely hear as a code name. He soon decided that this was likely not the case, and that it may actually be his name. "Why are you all here?"

That garnered a more immediate response, since this question was related to nothing more than just business. "The war that came crashing upon your doorstep is one an ally of yours has already been heavily involved in. We are also his allies. We are here with his permission while we work out our next move."

"Akira?" Soul asked, teleporting into the tree immediately as he said this. "That is his house. You are allies with him?"

Given that Espio (who also went by codenames at times, Shadow recalled) didn't normally take allies, this response could be considered reasonable. Shadow didn't fault Soul for it. "Yes," he answered briefly.

This seemed to leave him thinking for a moment before he settled into the tree properly. "How do you know him?"

"I met him when he still lived outside of the Highlands," Shadow responded, still keeping his words brief. He didn't figure great detail was needed or wanted, so he didn't give any.

"As well as the others?"

"Yes."

Soul nodded slowly. "How were you all involved in this war?"

"It is a long story," Shadow murmured. "Many threads tie us all into this. It would take too much time to get into everything."

"What is the largest of these threads, then?"

"There is not one, but multiple."

It took a second, but Soul relented on asking another time if only because there were other matters at hand. "Where did the other chameleon go?"

At this, Shadow glanced around. He hadn't even noticed she'd left, a fact which he blamed on being so tired. A quick scan, however, was sufficient to locate her. "She went inside."

"Hm. I see." Soul closed his eyes and sighed. "It was pleasant meeting you, but I am needed in other matters." Shadow let out a vague hum of acknowledgement. At this, Soul leapt out of the tree and onto the porch, stepping inside the home without another word.

~保護者~

"You get your way. We here, now let me go," Calypso demanded once Espio's home came into view. "I walk rest of way."

Novei huffed and set Calypso down, crossing her arms afterward. "What? You tired of being carried around?"

"Yes!" Calypso snapped at her.

The younger woman didn't get a chance to respond before Li hurried up, smiling. "Okay, that's really good. You're both okay." The relief in his voice was obvious, and it made Novei turn to face him curiously.

Still furious, Calypso responded, "She not be if she ever do t'at again!"

Li blinked, backing up slightly. "Uh… what the heck happened?" he asked cautiously.

"She carry me like a child!"

"I carried her like the dumbass she is, going and knocking herself out," Novei grumbled, glaring at Calypso. "Honestly, what did you think was going to happen?" Calypso whacked her hard on the back of the head and began walking toward the house.

Novei made some growl-like noise, attempting to go exact revenge on her aunt before Li gently grabbed her by the arm. "What?" she asked.

"I'm just glad you're back. A lot… has been happening. Just…" Li smiled brightly. "It's great that you're safe."

"Of course I am safe," Novei remarked easily, tilting her head.

Li sheepishly rubbed the back of his head. "Er… it's just nice to see that you're alright."

"I suppose that makes sense." After Novei said this, it grew quiet for a moment before she grabbed Li by the arm and began walking back to Espio's home. Li yelped and tried to free himself, only to resign himself to his fate and let her carry him around. Novei walked over to Calypso and set Li down, pointing at the wolf. "You speak to him," she said to her aunt.

"Why I need do t'at?" Calypso asked, crossing her arms.

"I said so," Novei answered, crossing her arms as well.

"You no explain why, girl," Calypso frowned.

Li piped in, chuckling nervously. "S-she doesn't have to if she doesn't wan-"

Novei turned on him, setting her hand on his head and forcing him to be quiet. "She needs to speak to you." Without another word, she lightly thrust Li toward Calypso.

"I no need speak him," Calypso muttered. "He speak 'nough on his own. He smart enough to read when ot'er people no want talk back to him."

Seemingly satisfied and not giving Li a chance to respond, she grabbed the wolf and drug him away. He tried to protest but she only shook him around to make him be quiet. So she does think somewhat well of him. Good.

~保護者~

Roughly a quarter-mile behind Espio's house was a small carefully-maintained clearing used for very basic archery practice. No one was here now, so Sonic decided this was as good a place as any to sit with Steam. He wasn't entirely sure what was wrong, but something about Steam's demeanor was throwing up all sorts of red flags. It makes me think of Jet… or Dad.

Steam tried to push himself up to his feet and gain some semblance of composure over himself, but the pain in his head felt murderous and left him able to go no farther than his hands and knees. "F-fuck… not now…"

Sonic didn't dare touch Steam or come closer, so all he had to offer right now were words. He hoped it would be enough. "Take it easy, Steam. You're in a safe place now."

"No!" Steam cried out, attempting to push himself up again to no avail. "I… I can't stop like this…"

"Steam, you have to stop for a minute," Sonic insisted calmly, unperturbed by the outburst. Given the correlation his mind had made between this situation and past meltdowns his dad and Jet had had in the past, he had fully expected there to be such outbursts. "Give yourself a chance to rest."

"I came to help fight this fucking war, and I can't even do that right!" Steam's arms buckled underneath him, no longer responding to any attempts to push himself up. "I keep fucking it all up!"

"That's not true at all," Sonic countered evenly. "You've done a lot of good since you've been here. And as far as the things that have gone wrong… it's not like you're the only one who's messed up. Most of us have by this point. And a lot of us have been way more useless than you have been, honestly."

The green hedgehog was nearly sobbing at this point, curling in on himself and muttering something akin to, "I'm not as good as he is," and various similar lines.

Sonic bit his lower lip briefly as he tried to wrap his mind around what was going on, but eventually conceded defeat. "What… are you talking about, Steam?"

"I… I'm not as good at this as Jet," he choked out between painful sobs, forcing himself to gasp for air every few seconds.

Now Sonic was even more confused, and not to mention concerned. "What are you talking about?" he asked again.

Steam broke down more, barely able to speak as his arms instinctively clutched at his head. "He's… better…"

"You're not making sense," Sonic mumbled, frowning. What is he talking about? Steam's fingers dug into his head at this, curling up tighter and muttering several things under his breath. Opting to wait it out and let the other hedgehog calm down further before asking further questions, Sonic stayed quiet for now.

Eventually, Steam's sobs died down and his muscles relaxed, coming out of his balled up position and lying on the ground on his side. He shivered for a moment and glanced at Sonic, then frowned. "Fuck…"

Emerald eyes blinked several times. "You… alright?"

Steam's gaze drifted away and he slowly began pushing himself into a seated position. "I'm fine."

"You weren't," Sonic was quick to point out. "That stuff you were talking about… where did all of that come from?"

"What stuff?" Steam asked, fear growing somewhat evident on his face. The hell did I say…? Taking a breath to steady himself against any incoming backlash, Sonic swiftly (albeit also carefully) recapped everything for Steam. The green hedgehog practically threw himself to his feet and walked to Sonic, muttering, "Do not tell anyone about what I said. I don't need people talking about that."

"I won't," Sonic assured, still staying calm for Steam's sake. "But… I do still want to know where all of that came from, like I said."

Steam leaned himself up against a nearby tree, crossing his arms loosely. "I-… Jet's better than me, at a lot of things. I want to prove that I'm good for… something…"

"You are," Sonic assured without hesitation. "Comparing yourself to other people isn't necessary, Steam. You've got plenty that you're already good at. You're a smart guy, for one thing, and you've got a lot of power. Those two things alone can take people far in life."

"I've reached the limits of what I can do. I can't go any further, but it seems like the people I surround myself with can go so much farther. Wave, Jet, Rose, hell, even Kial. He started as a mortal and is now a God."

"And you're a freaking Balancer," Sonic reminded him. "That's no small feat, Steam. That you were appointed such a role means you were worthy. You're not some piece of shit who doesn't amount to anything."

"That's the entire goddamn problem!" Steam shouted suddenly, anger overtaking him. "I never asked to be the Balancer. I didn't want this, and now that's pretty much defined who I am. I am the Balancer, and that's all I can amount to!"

"That's not true at all. You can and are more than any title, no matter how important it is, defines you to be." Sonic stood and dusted his legs off. "As for what more you are beyond that… I'm in no position to say. It's up to you to make your own way, Steam. It's up to you to decide to be more."

Steam sighed. "I still don't even want to be this…"

"I don't have any advice for that part," Sonic answered with a sigh of his own. "Maybe it's something we can look into dealing with, once this is all over. Helping you with that is the very least we could do to aid you in return."

"I'd need to wait, regardless… Losing a person that has knowledge of a role is dangerous. Much less having someone with that same role who doesn't have the knowledge." Steam put his face in his hands and groaned. "I can't fucking believe I said any of that in the first place."

"Regardless, we'll deal with it when we can," Sonic assured him. "And as far as what you said… I'm glad you said it. Getting stuff like that off your chest will help you in the long run."

"Locke turned you into a pain in the ass," Steam muttered, shaking his head. "Logical and helpful, but a pain in the ass."

"How am I a pain?" Sonic huffed.

Though he tried, Steam couldn't muster the energy to smile. "You are and always will be. Always have been, too."

"Yeah, screw you, too," Sonic responded, a note of tired humor in his voice as he looked away with crossed arms.

"Same to you," Steam chuckled before groaning. "I can't fucking move from this tree. Unless you're carrying me, we're not going anywhere. Well… you can teleport at least."

"Somehow I get the feeling you'd object to that," Sonic answered lightly.

Steam glanced up at Sonic. "I don't want everyone seeing me in such a… vulnerable state. I really would hate to drag spirits down with my shit."

"It's fine. We can wait out here for a while," Sonic replied. "Things are calm right now. It'll be alright."

"Good. It might be a while…" Nodding, Sonic leaned back against a tree to wait. Resting would be helpful to both of them.

~保護者~

"He looks his age when he is asleep," Alana found herself murmuring, leaning against Sein's torso. Her eyes never strayed from their son. "Young, that is. Younger than life has forced him to mostly behave and think." At seventeen in our years… he is still so very young. Had he been twenty-one, he at least would have been an adult.

"He's a good kid… everything I hoped he could be and more," Sein commented, wrapping an arm lightly around Alana. "But… you're right. He looks a lot less drug down by the years he's been alive."

"I do not enjoy the thought of how hard all of those years have been on him," she admitted. "And we do not even have an idea of just how many years have passed since the time I brought him to this timeline. It could have been… very many."

"I wish we could've been there for him," Sein murmured, pulling her just a bit closer. "I hate how much things have obviously hurt him."

"I do as well," Alana nearly whispered. "I wish he could have been safe."

Sein managed a smile. "We did the right thing, though. Look how far he's come."

"He has," she acknowledged quietly. "He is everything we could have hoped for… and more."

"Very true on the 'and more'." Sein's smile brightened. "He's amazing."

Alana gave Sein a light and gentle nudge with her shoulder. "And what, pray tell, has led to you being so taken with him?" she teased, her spirits already lifting.

"I was, from the moment I learned that you were pregnant with him," Sein answered easily, smiling yet still. "It's the entire reason I was so willing to give up my life all those years ago." His smile never faltered, fatherly pride shining in his eyes.

She looked up at him softly. "I know." Turning her head, she used gentle fingers to carefully brush some residual dirt or ash off of their son's shoulder. There was an obvious note of fondness in her eyes when she spoke. "In all seriousness, however… What do you think of him, Sein? His abilities, his achievements… anything."

"I've said all I can say. He's amazing. Everything about him." Sein looked down to her with a bright smile. "I love him. That's all I've really got."

"That is enough," Alana answered, pleased with his response. "It is more than enough." She returned her focus to Jet. "I must ask, what happened while I was away earlier? He has been filthy all day long."

"We talked after he landed on the ground from a portal," Sein answered easily. "It seemed to help him a lot, which is what I was hoping for."

"That is good," she murmured. She gently brushed more dirt from Jet's shoulder, causing him to shift a little in his sleep. He curled up a bit tighter and she wisely pulled her hand back for now. It wasn't her intention to wake him up, after all. "Sleeping like that… he reminds me very much of Mother," she observed quietly. "It was common for her to sleep in such a position as well."

"He's really like us all. I see so much of you, dad, and even Laralei in him all the time. It makes me happy."

Alana managed a small smile. "He is already beginning to look up to you, you know. Have you noticed? Your opinions and thoughts have begun to matter to him."

"I look up to him just as much as he looks up to me, maybe more. I want the both of us to keep caring like that and always try to be the best we can be." Sein answered, his free hand going over his chest. "I want him to succeed at what he wants to do."

"Once we have time," Alana answered slowly, "we should learn what it is that he wants to do. I would be happy to know what all of his passions are… to know what things in life make him the happiest."

"I'd prefer to know them now, but whenever we do get to find out, I better be there," he teased, smirking faintly.

"Of course," Alana chuckled. "You must be." The sound of their voices caused Jet to shift again, a bit more this time, and she grew quiet for a moment to make sure they hadn't woken him up. He settled back down before long.

Sein sighed gently, leaning his head against hers. "I'm glad we were brought back. I was so worried I'd never get to see him."

"I know you were," Alana murmured. "I had feared the same."

"Though… do you think that's why it was us?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you think we were brought back to be there for him? Obviously we're strong Immortals, but he's benefited a lot from being around us. It doesn't seem like a coincidence."

"I do not know. It is possible, but it does not seem that any of the people we have been around would be in a position to know about this."

Sein shrugged softly. "Not important, honestly. I'm happy either way."

"I am as well," Alana admitted. Once again, Jet shifted. This time, he seemed to start to stir and actually wake up. Anala tossed Sein a glance, unsure if they should quiet down again and hope he drifted back off or do something else. Being that her gender was not the caretakers in their species, she lacked as much instinct as he had related to the entire matter of care (it was more in her instinct to fight and protect) and so looked to him to gauge his reaction.

Sein simply stayed where he was and watched Jet. If he was going to fall back asleep, then that was fine. If he woke up, then that was what would happen. However, noise from further down the hall interrupted that basic plan, and Jet sort of halfway sat up, blinking blearily at the door as he tried to wake up enough to figure out what was going on - even as the small ruckus died down and things grew quiet again. Sein smiled to Jet, watching him carefully. "You feeling okay?"

Jet rubbed at his eyes and mumbled something in reply that was only barely intelligible, prompting Alana to move over and gently push him back down. "You are still tired," she told him quietly. "You should rest more."

Though he was still mostly asleep, Jet mumbled a vague, "M'fine," even as he curled back up. Sein chuckled a little at this, glancing to Alana.

Alana returned Sein's glance. "He is very much your son," she told him in undertone while simultaneously making sure Jet was comfortable. "He is just as stubborn as you, even when asleep."

Sein snorted at this. "Says the daughter of stubbornness incarnate."

"Hush," she retorted. Then, returning her attention to Jet when he again shifted and mumbled something, she murmured, "You hush as well, my son. It is important for you to sleep."

This time, Jet's words were a bit more clear. "M'not tired."

"You're clearly tired. Sleep," Sein answered softly, smiling.

"You are," Alana gently countered when Jet started to say something in reply. "Rest now. We can talk later."

Jet seemed to lose whatever fight he had had in him prior to this moment and he shifted a bit more to get comfortable. What he said in reply was mostly lost to the sleepy way he was still mumbling, but Alana was fairly certain of one word in particular he had said. Turning to Sein with wide eyes, she whispered, "Did he just…?"

Sein's eyes were wide as well, much like his mouth before a downright goofy grin appeared on his face and he hugged her tightly. "Big steps, eh?"

"So I did not imagine that?" Alana asked him, just needing the confirmation. "He truly… called me mama?" Surely there is no way he meant that…

"Well… I'm sure as hell not his mom, and he calls me dad, so…" He chuckled softly, pulling her close. "He did." Unable to formulate a reply, Alana just nodded a little and hugged him with one arm. Her free hand was occupied by gently stroking their son's hair, something which seemed to gradually relax him over time. "I'm happy for you," Sein murmured to her gently. She responded by offering a small smile to him and nuzzling his cheek a little in an affectionate manner. He returned this affection with no hesitation, closing his eyes. The family is coming together… I'm… so happy.

~保護者~

4,296 words this time. I once again should have posted days ago and yet failed to do so. Sorry about that! Hope you all enjoy this one. Many thanks as always to Blazing Winds for all of his help and support. Posted (at about 7:20 p.m.) 05-05-20.