Six in the Evening

It was eleven in the morning when school was declared cancelled.

It was three in the afternoon, and everyone except Yuki and Souhei remained at school.

It was eight at night, by the time Yuki's mother had come to pick her up.

"It's a good thing you came when you did," Yuki said, pushing a loose strand of her long black hair behind her ears, as she looked out of the car window.

The big storm that had swept the small village they stayed in, had flooded the fields. There were stalks of crop that had been bent and broken, trails of green littering the soil of their distant neighbours' plots of land. Yuki wondered about their own crops back by the house; she hoped that they hadn't been too damaged. Unlike when they had first moved here from the city, they were now well-experienced growers. It would still take a lot of time, though, if they had to start cultivating their land all over again; it would be especially difficult, as the soil would be saturated with rainwater.

"You weren't scared of the storm, were you?" It was a playful statement, though there was a tinge of concern mixed in there, too.

Yuki laughed. "Of course I wasn't! But Souhei's mum came to pick us up, and Souhei refused to leave if I was going to be there alone. I think that his mum was going to offer to drive me home, but you showed up just in time."

Speaking of Souhei brought Yuki back to what had just happened only a few hours ago.

She gave her young mother a sideways glance.

She should probably tell her.

Fiddling with her fingers as they rested atop her lap, Yuki took a deep breath.

"Mum...I...broke our promise."

There was no need for an explanation as to what 'promise' Yuki was referring to.

Unexpectedly, Yuki saw that her mother was smiling.

"You finally told Souhei, then."

There was a pause while Yuki considered her mother. It was almost as if she knew that she was going to tell Souhei.

"I did," she admitted. If they were going to be completely technical, she 'showed' him.

She had never been more relieved in her life, when she realized that he did not look at her in disgust when her wolf ears had appeared, or when he saw that her face was furry. He wasn't angry that she had brought out her claws, the same ones that had hurt him, once upon a time. Most importantly, he was still going to be her friend, promising to keep her secret.

"That was really brave of you," her mother said, gently. "Your father would have been proud."

Yuki's face glowed.

She knew from her mother that her dad had also taken that choice to show her what he really was - part man, part wolf.

Part wolf, huh? That reminded her of her brother. She decided right then to go straight to Ame, to apologise. Though he had hurt her whilst they were fighting a few days ago, she had been equally as feral when it came down to it. He had been right about them being wolves, but she had also been equally right about them being humans. They were capable of living as both. Her revelation to Souhei served as proof of that.

As the car pulled up to their wooden house, she noticed that it had been boarded - the work of her mother - and she took a few tentative steps towards it, carefully sliding the doors open, so as to not disturb the boards.

As she stepped into the main living area, something felt off.

She couldn't sense Ame anywhere in the house.

Turning towards her mother who had just slid the door behind her, she spoke up, "Mum. Where's Ame?"

She saw her mum stiffen.

"He...left."

"What?" Yuki exclaimed. "You mean he went out into the mountains?"

That Ame! She knew that her brother enjoyed exploring the forest way too much, but this was just ridiculous. Even if he was in his wolf form, it would be dangerous to even think about going out considering the storm they just had.

"I'll go find him," she said. It would be too risky for her mum to go out to the forest now, with the water making the slopes slippery. "I'll bring him back before you know it."

She moved to walk past her mother and open the door, when she felt a hand on her wrist.

"You can't go."

"Don't worry, Mum, I'll promise I'll be careful," she said, shooting her mum a grin.

…

It was then that she realised that while her mum's grip was firm, she was shaking. Her mum was trembling, yet still with that same smile of hers on her face.

Yuki's smile fell off her face - something was wrong.

"Mum?"

"I already tried looking for him. In the forest." Her mother looked down, not meeting Yuki's eyes. "I found him."

"...You did?" It was only then that Yuki noticed that her mother's clothes were slightly dirty; proof that she had gone out into the forest. "Then how come he's not back, yet? Is he okay? Did something happen to him?"

"He's perfectly fine but…"

"But what? Why isn't he back?"

Her mum couldn't have given him permission to stay out with these conditions. Though her mum was very lenient, she was concerned for their safety, too.

"He's not coming back."

Hana, her mother - Ame's mother, did look at Yuki this time. The look in her eyes told Yuki she was serious.

"What...what do you mean? Of course he's coming back," her voice cracked, her body taking in the information even though her mind had not. "Why wouldn't he come back? He has to come back home."

Shaking her head, Hana was still smiling, but this time Yuki could see that it was not completely sincere.

"Yuki...he doesn't want to come home." Hana looked away. "Or rather...this isn't his home anymore."

"You're not making any sense," said Yuki. And yet, she was not truly surprised by this news; that made her feel even worse.

"Ame chose his own path now, Yuki. He's going to live in the forest. It's something decided to do himself. We...have to respect that."

What was her mother saying? He couldn't just leave like that. He was -

'I'm a wolf.'

- just a boy.

"Mum. Mum." She gripped her mum's shoulder, eyes wide. Her mind backtracked, trying to block out the conversation that they just had. "Where's Ame?"

It had been six in the evening when Ame left his family behind.

Yuki growled with effort, as her claws dug into the wet, unstable ground. Finding Ame was going to be more difficult that she had thought.

The forest was pitch-black, the tall trees blocking out any streams of moonlight that could have been shining. As a wolf, Ame's night vision was sufficient enough to get around, but she still had to be careful. She hadn't been the most amiable of animals when she roamed around as a child, picking fights with the likes of wild boars, and if any of the other creatures recognised her or her scent, they may come after her for a rematch.

She had to hurry. She had crept out in the dead of night, when Hana had fallen asleep. If she had been able to fall asleep, that was. What mother would be able to sleep if her son had left home like that?

I'll bring him back Mum. We'll have breakfast together like we always do.

Lifting her snout in the air, she sniffed around. As his older sister and after living with him all this time, she could pick up his scent immediately, however faint it was.

She bounded forward, dodging around the looming trees around her, following the smell. Leave it to Ame to travel on a tricky path. Still, she pushed forward, shifting the wet fallen leaves beneath her paws as she went. She noted the trail she was taking, making sure that she would be able to find her way back home once she found Ame. Since she'd have Ame with her, he could probably just find some shortcut home, anyway.

It took her a good half an hour of moving through the forest before his scent started growing stronger.

Found you.

Yuki came to a sudden halt, as the scent led her to a clearing. The moon's light beamed onto the area, shocking her senses. As her sight readjusted itself to accommodate for the light, she stepped forward.

"Ame."

And there he was, in the wolf form that she had expected. He was sitting on his hind legs, his front legs propping him up and he looked at her without a hint of surprise. Like he had been expecting her.

"Did you know I was coming?" she asked him.

Ame's ears twitched. "Yes," he said, in a quiet tone. "You're very loud."

She didn't say anything to that, knowing it to be true. When it came to stealth, Ame had always been better at it than her. With any of their canine abilities, Ame had always been better, actually. Except for fighting - it was always her that fought, not him.

"Ame, you've got come home and stop being silly. Mum's worried sick about you," she said, getting straight to the point.

"This is my home." He said it with the same seriousness that Hana displayed, earlier. "I'm not going back."

"You can't just stay here."

"I have to," he said. "The forest needs me. Master died, and I need to protect the territory."

His master, that old fox. Yuki couldn't help the resentment that she felt towards the fox. It was its fault for making Ame like this.

"What about school?"

Ame simply looked at her. It was a stupid question; Ame had never cared about school, but she had to try something.

"What about Mum? She needs you."

At that, Yuki thought she did see something flash in his slit-eyes, but he remained resolute. "She'll be alright."

"Don't be selfish. Mum may be strong but she still needs you."

"She has you."

...He was right. Their mum wasn't just strong - she was the strongest person that Yuki had ever known. Even though she might hurt now, if it took days, weeks, months or even years, Hana would be able to get past it.

"What about me?"

That was it. That was the real reason Yuki had came all the way out here.

"I need you."

It took a lot of her pride, to admit that, but she did.

Yet, it did not sway him in the least.

"You're strong too."

That's it. She has had enough of this nonsense.

"Strong enough to bring you home!" she barked, pouncing forward and biting at his neck. She was going to drag him home if she had to.

Before she knew what was happening, Ame had shaken her hold on him, maneuvering around her quickly, and easily pinning her down. It had taken him less than ten seconds.

She was stuck. She couldn't move.

This...is Ame? She turned her head and the face of a creature, with volumes of experience, looked down at her.

This was Ame. The one who had hated fighting. The one that she had to chase away bullies for. The one that she had to pull out out of a river, before he could drown.

He had surpassed her strength before she knew it.

Ame slowly let her go, knowing that she would not fight anymore.

"Ame, I'm sorry," she sniffed, apologising, because there was nothing she could do to bring him back. "I'm sorry for fighting with you."

She turned back into a human, the tears that could not escape in her other form, now pouring down her face. "I'm sorry that I wasn't a better sister."

If she had been, Ame wouldn't be doing this. He wouldn't leave her like this.

She didn't know if he felt sorry of her, or if he wanted to let her see him as a human one last time, but he too, changed back.

This made her cry even harder.

Like this, he didn't look like the grown wolf that he was. He looked like the ten year old boy she had grown up with. Her little brother.

She flung her arms around him, crushing him into a hug, sobbing. Words would not come to her, because she knew that none of them would be right.

"You're not a bad sister," he said, weakly returning her hug, "but I have to stay. The forest needs me and…" He pulled back so that she could see his eyes. "I need it too."

No matter how much Yuki wished that it wasn't true, she knew that he was right. The forest was where Ame belonged. It always had been.

"Don't forget us," she pleaded with him. He owed her and their mum at least that much. "Promise me!"

"I won't forget, as long as I live. I promise," he said, and he this time, if Yuki hadn't been imagining things, he hesitated before speaking again, "I didn't tell Mum...but I love you both. I always will."

Quiet, quiet Ame, who never spoke his feelings...The reality that he was really leaving crushed Yuki.

"We love you, too," she choked out.

He waited for her, waited for her to stop crying. When her tears had stopped enough for her to be able to see clearly, he was already a wolf again, dark fur gleaming under the moonlight.

Ame didn't say goodbye when he left her, but a howl echoed through the forest as the tears on Yuki's face dried.

It was twelve at midnight and it was the last time Yuki saw her brother.

A/N: Tadaa! I had this whole giant A/N written out but then when I went to save it got deleted. -sigh- Well, to cut a long note short, I wrote this for the Twelve Shots of Summer Challenge. At our halfway point, our prompt was 'How it Should Have Ended'. While the ending of the movie did kill my soul, I think if we saw Yuki's reaction to Ame leaving, being a big sister myself, it would have killed me even more. Of course, this piece doesn't live up to the movie, but it'll have to do, since we never see her reaction ;-; I cried a few times writing this. Not because my writing's sad (it's probably not as emotional as it could be if someone else wrote it) but because I kept thinking of the end of the movie and what I'd feel like if my siblings left me -i'm such a wimp- xD It's okay. I know for a fact that my siblings won't leave me to go live as wolfs for one good reason: the Internet. -shot-

Thanks for reading, and do check out the other fics from the Twelve Shots of Summer Challenge here on :D

- Dina (12/7/2014)