Time Tells All

"How are you still alive? " Sayuri asked as she sat on the bed beside her brother.

"Yusuke saved me, I believe." Shuichi replied looking up at the ceiling.

He had been about to go to sleep, already laying down in bed, when Sayuri had barged into his room asking the question that had been plaguing her mind all night.

She had been silent the entire trip home; mostly because their mother's boyfriend, Kazuya Hatanaka, was kind enough to drive them home.

"So you don't know for sure if he saved you or not?"

"He offered up his life in exchange for mine, to keep you and mother from having to grieve for my death. I was spared and I noticed Yusuke was still alive as well. I assume since he risked his own life for my wish that the mirror spared us both for his noble deed." Kurama explained before yawning. He looked to his sister and smiled at her face of deep thought. Placing a hand on her knee he brought her attention back to him. "Tomorrow is the start of our weekend and mother won't be home until the day after tomorrow. Maybe we can do something together like we used to before she fell ill."

"A sibling day?" Sayuri had a bright smile beginnig to pull at her lips. Her brother nodded. "That sounds like fun. It's been a while since we did something without worrying about mother's health."

Shuichi patted her knee and withdrew his hand. "Alright then, go get some rest and I'll wake you up in the morning."

"Goodnight big brother." The young red head said she got up to take her leave.

"Goodnight Sayuri." Shuichi called after her before getting comfortable on his bed and letting sleep take him.

The two Minamino siblings were walking down the street the next day, chatting over miniscule things that weren't of much importance. As Shuichi had promised, he got Sayuri up in the morning and they began their day with a simple breakfast made by none other than the older redhead. After eating and cleaning dishes the two headed out the door with no destination in mind. The two simply wandered around their home town entering any store that seemed interesting to them.

The day had been relaxing for the two; both were simply happy that they no longer feared about their mother's sickness, knowing Shiori would be home tomorrow afternoon. The doctor managed to catch them before they left; Shuichi answering the call that confirmed her release.

Shuichi and Sayuri had decided, after spending hours meandering through town, to head to the forest clearing for a bit before going home to straighten the house up for their mother's arrival tomorrow.

As they were walking they passed a school and Shuichi caught his young sister looking over it's grounds as they passed, most likely comparing it to their school grounds.

"Shuichi what school was that again? I forgot its name and to look as we passed." she admitted looking up at the tall boy beside her dressed in jeans, a nice light colored shirt.

"That was Yusuke's school, Sarayashiki Middle." He replied with a chuckle looking down at his younger sister who was dressed in jeans of a deep blue color and a black t-shirt that managed to show off the curves of her petite form without being overly tight.

"Okay so that's where that detective goes to school then." She mumbled as they kept to their path.

A smile graced Sayuri's face as she stepped foot into the clearing and seeing the flowers surounding it. She walked to a rose bush that was on the edge of the clearing and smelled one of the flowers.

Shuichi, instead of following his sister to the roses, sat by the trunk of one of trees. He watched her roam from flower to flower, taking in the beauty of them, before leaning back and resting his eyes.

"It's so peaceful here."

He heard her voice, but it sounded a lot closer than it was before. Opening his eyes he took notice that Sayuri had managed to sneek up on him some how and was now seating herself beside him. He was a bit shocked to say the least. He had always been able to hear his sibling walking up to him, even when the girl had been trying her hardest to be silent; it was just one of the advantages of being a fox demon even if he was in a human form. Maybe her knew found stealth, whether Sayuri knew of it or not, was part of her demon traits surfacing. It made him even more curious as to what type of Youkai she truly was.

"What?" Sayuri's voice pulled him from his thoughts and he could see the curiosity and slight worry her eyes held.

"Sorry, what was that? " He questioned, not fully undertanding what she was asking.

"You were staring at me. Is something wrong?"

"No, nothing's wrong. I was simply thinking." He said with a smile. He looked out over the clearing before continuing. "So how are you feeling about focusing your energy and growing the rose? I didn't have much of chance to question you yesterday because of school and everything that went on with mother.

"I feel I'm doing okay. I mean, I'm getting the rose to grow a bit and I tried again last night and it grew a little more than that morning, but not much more."

"It will take time and hard work, but you'll get it don't worry. You're still trying to grasp the concept of controlling your energy, so it will take longer than it would if you were familiar with energy control."

" I close my eyes when trying to grow the rose to help my concentration and I feel... It's hard to explain, but kind of a warm, I guess, feeling going towards my hand and I picture this ball of light, so to speak. I don't know..."

"Like I said it will take time, but it sounds like you're understanding your energy and controlling it rather well for a beginner." Shuichi complimented.

Sayuri smiled slightly at his compliment before letting out a content sigh and leaning back against the tree, letting her head rest against her brother's arm.

"I'm excited to learn how to use this weapon."

"Hopefully you will not have a need to use it, but it will make me feel better knowing you can defend yourself if needed and I'm not around."

"Yeah..." Sayuri sat up and rose to her feet, turning on her heel to face Shuichi. "Come on big brother, we should head home. It's getting late."

Shuichi nodded and stood up as well. Placing his hads in his pockets, he began to lead the way back to their house. As the two emerged from the woods and rounded the corner of the street, a car parked in front of their home caught their attention.

"Shuichi, isn't that Kazuya's car?" Sayuri questioned glancing up at her brother.

"Yes, I believe it is." He replied.

The two walked up to the door of their house and entered. Removing their shoes at the door before continuing their way in.

"Hello? Kazuya?" Sayuri called out for her mother's boyfriend.

"In here!" He called. The siblings followed where his voice had come from.

Walking into the living room of their home. The sight they were greeted with was shocking, but welcomed. On the couch sat Kazuya, but he was not alone. On his left sat his son, Kakoda, and on his right sat Shiori, who had a tired, but bright smile on her face as she looked over at her children.

"M-Mother you weren't supposed to be home yet." Sayuri said, still a bit schocked.

"Everything checked out well, so they let me leave early since they really found no reason to keep me." Shiori explained. Sayuri's shock wore off as she smiled at her mother, going over to sit on the arm of the couch by the woman.

Shuichi crossed the room and sat down on the chair that was placed near the couch his family sat on. Smiles adorned everyone's face as they talked merrily. They were all thankful to be here together, without any worries or stresses at the moment. It was a beautiful moment, Shiori was alive and well, and most importantly, she was home where she belonged.