No Remains~

Even innocence has caught the morning train
And there ain't nobody left but us these days

He realizes, looking back over his life (time which feels lifelong) spent in this organization, what a paradox it really is. He remembers stepping up onto that platform and standing next to Numbuh 274 (his hero, his idol, his paragon), being sworn into a group so selective, so exclusive. That, he decides, is when his childhood ended.

Not then, as many would think, not as he stands so very close to the end. Moments away from his figurative death. The erasure of every single memory that he holds of the past 6 years.

No.

When he entered the Kids Next Door, when he placed his genetic code into that computer, when he made a promise to protect kids everywhere, that is when his childhood was stolen.

And he loved every single, solitary moment of it.

Perhaps that is why he has become like this. He is not an adult. He will never be an adult. And yet, he is not really a child either. Because what child should ever have to do what he does every day? He has become a living, breathing representation of this organization. It is all he has, all he knows how to be.

He stands, stoic, at the entrance of the chamber, wondering if this realization comes to everyone. It's a punch to the gut, suddenly knowing that it was all kind of a lie. That in a way (he shudders), the adults have almost won. And, scarier still, he finds that he is not afraid to grow up because he did that years ago. The moment he took on responsibilities akin to those of an adult. What he is truly afraid of is letting go. Because if he lets go of the Kids Next Door, this blessing not so in disguise, what is left of him?

A/N: The song is "These Days" by Bon Jovi and this marks the beginning of my song-fic collection! Basically, I shuffled my Ipod and got twenty songs and we'll see where that takes me. This one I think is about Numbuh 1, but I suppose if you take out the 274 comment, it could be anyone. Hope you enjoyed :D