Time Tells All

"Sayuri, where's Shuichi at?" Shiori asked weakly when she noticed her daughter coming in alone. It was odd to see them apart here lately; Shuichi hardly let her go off by herself being the protective older he was, that and she knew of her daughter's temper and smart mouth at times.

"He went to speak with a friend after school, he shouldn't be long." She replied coming to her mother's side and taking her hand. "How do you feel today?"

"I'm okay dear, as well as I can be." Her mother replied.

"You're going to be okay, you know that right?"

"Sayuri-"

"No, you're going to be. I just have a feeling. Please don't lose hope. Shuichi and I need you here."

"Shuichi has always been rather independent, he'd fair well if I pass and he'll take care of you, he's always watched out for you." Shiori mused.

"He's a good older brother, he loves us both."

"That he does." Her mother agreed lettng out a quiet yawn.

"You should rest mother. Have you eaten today?"

"I ate a little earlier this morning, but I'm not hungry right now, just tired."

"Then sleep, I'll still be here." Sayuri replied giving her mother a small smile.

Some time had passed and Sayuri had gone from sitting by her mother to sitting by the window. Her mother's boyfriend had stopped by for a moment only to say he had an errand to run and would stop by later again tonight. He had spoken to Sayuri quietly for a short minute before giving Shiori a light kiss on the cheek and taking his leave.

Sayuri sat there quietly staring out the window. Occasionally a nurse would come in, but other than that she was alone. She kept thinking of what she told her mother earlier. She was more so trying to convince herself that her mother would be fine, doing what her brother said and look on the bright side, but it was a very difficult thing to do. She really wanted to believe her mother would come home soon, but she really wasn't sure.

She heard the door open once again, but didn't turn to acknowledge who came in until she heard her mother speak.

"Shuichi, it's rare to see you bring a friend. Sayuri told me you were going to speak with one after school, but didn't tell me you would bring him by."

Sayuri turned in her seat by the window to see her mother sitting up in her bed, but that didn't bother her as much as who was standing in the room with them.

The green uniform and slicked back, black hair was enough to know this day wouldn't end well. She couldn't understand what her brother was thinking bringing the kid who was trying to arrest her brother here or why he even went to see him at all.

"I didn't tell Sayuri about bringing him here. Mother, you should really lie down and rest." Shuichi stated, his worry about his mother's help getting the best of him.

"I'm feeling much better today."

"Have you eaten today?"

"Earlier, but I'm not hungry right now."

"Mother you said the same thing when I arrived and that was half an hour or more." Sayuri spoke up, tearing her eyes off the unwanted guest.

"You'll never get better without the proper nutrition." Shuichi stated.

"Yes, you're right dear. It's just hard to remember sometimes." Shiori replied as her son began to cut up an apple go her. "Are you going to introduce your friend Shuichi?"

"Oh yes, Mother this is Yusuke. Yusuke this is my mother, Shiori and that's my little sister, Sayuri, by the window."

"It's nice to meet you Yusuke." Shiori greeted with a smile. Sayuri remained rather silent, her gaze switching from her brother to Yusuke. "Sayuri, be nice and say hello at least."

"Hi." The young redhead said unenthusiastically with a short wave. She still didn't understand her brother's reasoning for this. Yusuke was trying to get the ancient artifacts back, whatever those were, and he was apparently after her brother. So why bring him here?

The small group spoke for a short while, mostly Shiori asking Yusuke questions about himself. Sayuri was silently watching the exchange. Overall Yusuke seemed kind, but he was a Rekai Tanti here to arrest her brother. Though he seemed rather normal, she knew deep down he wasn't. He was strong.

-3 Days earlier-

"So what was it you couldn't explain to me earlier?" Sayuri questioned her older brother as she plopped down on his bed. Shuichi turned his desk chair around to face his sister.

"You remember Gouki, correct? "

"Yeah, he was the taller of the two demons you were associated with right? What about him?" She questioned, tilting her head to the side in a curious manner.

"Yes, well he has been killed."

"Really? How did you find out?" She asked.

"I felt all his energy leave, life and demon energy, signalling his death." Shuichi explained.

"Was it that Spirit Detective that's out to get you?"

"Yes it was the Spirit Detective."

"You never told me what you took, nor why you took it." The young redhead stated laying back on the bed, a unreadable tone to her voice.

"It was a mirror, one that may be of use to me. That's all you need to know." Her bother sighed. Sayuri sat up and rose from the bed. She walked over to her older sibling and hugged him lightly.

"I trust you Shuichi. You wouldn't take something if there wasn't a good reason for it. You don't have to explain it to me, I shouldn't of pried." She didn't give him time to respond as she took her leave.

-end of flashback-

"Mother, Yusuke and I are going to walk around and discuss something for a study group were in. We'll be back soon." Shuichi said, coming up with a clever excuse to leave. Just as their mother's boyfriend entered the room. Sayuri watched as they left and stood from her seat by the window.

"I'm going to go with them, see if I can find something to drink." She stated, hurrying out the door. Shuichi had glanced behind him at hearing the door open and close once again, and stopped in his tracks to turn to his younger sister as she approached the two.

"What are you doing Sayuri?"

"I want to come with the two of you. I want to know what's going to happen to you, what's going on." She stated quietly as she met her brother's eyes.

"Sayuri..." Shuichi groaned, placing a hand to his head. He wanted to keep her out of this situation as much as possible, to keep her safe, but to explain that to her would be difficult.

"I know days ago I said I shouldn't have pried into all this, but you're my older brother and I've already put myself into the situation by following you in the woods the day all this started. Please Shuichi. I think I have a right to know if the fate of my brother." Sayuri reasoned, making it even harder for him to argue.

"Not trying to get into family affairs and all..." Yusuke began, drawing the siblings' attention to him. "She's got a point though, besides I think she can handle it after standing up to the shortie with a sword."

"Alright Sayuri, you can know. Come on." Shuichi agreed continuing his walk.

He ended up leading the two to the roof of the hospital. Sayuri joined her brother by the railing and sat on the edge, watching Yusuke carefully.

"Shuichi Minamino is my alias here in the human world. And that woman is my human mother. My human father passed away years ago." Shuichi began telling his story to the Spirit Detective. "My true form is that of a Youko, a fox spirit. I was a well known thief in the Makai, known as Youko Kurama. I've been living here in the Ningenkai for fifteen years under the care of my mother and kept this secret from both her and my sister." He continued to tell Yusuke of the night he was forced to flea from demon world and how he had planned to leave.

"So what stopped you?" Yusuke asked.

"Did you notice the scars on my mother's hands? Those were received six years ago when I had gotten home from school one day. I had reached up to get a container and fell. Mother tried to help me, to keep me from hitting the floor as hard and to catch the container. The container broke cutting her hands, and even after the bandages came off the scars remained. The entire time she was more worried about me than herself. Between her smile and the scars hounding me I couldn't leave." Shuichi said as he looked over at his younger sister and walked closer to her. "I realised i came to think of her as my actual mother and couldn't leave, besides I had a younger sister to watch out for and who would hardly give me a moment alone." He said, a soft smile appearing on his face as he brushed a lose strand of hair behind Sayuri's ear. His smile fell as he took his hand away and turned to Yusuke.

"As a demon it's unthinkable to have fostered such emotions, but I have. Our mother won't last another month." He toom the artifact from his pocket and looked down at it. "I wish to use the mirror to save her life."

Yusuke looked between the two redheads and the mirror. Kurama wished to use the mirror for good rather than wreak havoc on the Ningenkai, so what was the harm in allowing him to fulfill his wish and get his mother well again? After all he wasn't just doing it for himself, but for his younger sister. Koenma would be fine with that, right? Boy did he have a tough decision to make.