It had been quite a while since I've seen my family members. I've spent all that time in High School just wondering how they were. Ah, where'd the time go? The wait only made me more eager to reunite. That's why for this extended weekend off, I decided to head back into the countryside to see my mother once again.

I headed off via a train not too far off from the school. I should also mention that I bought my best friend, Yoko, along with me. The train ride will be quite long, so we had plenty of time to chat with each other.

"Thanks for bringing me along, Yuki." She spoke up first at the start of the conversation.

"Well, isn't that what friends are for?" I replied back. "You did tell me that your parents were quite busy this weekend, so I thought I should bring you along."

"Yeah, I guess that's just what best friends do. Thank you, again."

"Ah, don't mention it!"

Indeed, Yoko's parents were busy with a heavy work. I didn't want to see her all alone at the boarding houses, so I invited her to meet my family. We've been best friends for as long as I could remember being since Middle School, yet I've never felt the courage to reveal to her my secret, even if she would find it cool.

We bickered on about several topics for the rest of the train ride, until we got to our stop. Exiting the station, I saw my mother, Hana, by the station exit, waving at me and Yoko from her van.

"Yuki!" She called out. I hurried down the steps to my mother as I leapt in for one great hug.

"Mama! I've missed you so much!" I cried out in response.

I introduced her to Yoko on the way to Hana's house, about how we've been best friends since middle school; I've also been talking about how I've caught up with Sohei in the meantime.

"Well, it's nice that you're still getting along with him," my mother commented. "Even if you two are miles apart. That cell phone must be coming in handy."

When we arrived at my house, I found none other than Sohei sitting at the front of the house. It was definitely a welcome surprise to see him in person once again.

"Nice to finally see you in person again." Sohei said.

"Yes, it's been so long!" I cried, coming in for another hug. "I know we've been catching up through texts, but I'm just so glad to see you in person again!"

"Tell me about it! By the way, I'll be sleeping over for the next few days, so we'll have enough time to chat!"

"Oh, well that's great!"

Sohei noticed Yoko behind me. "Ah, I see that you brought your friend along, too."

"Uh, yes, hello." Yoko shyly introduced herself. It is like her to be shy when meeting new people, even when we met.

"Ah, no need to worry." Sohei reassured her. "We've been friends since Elementary."

Eventually, Yoko was getting accustomed to the new surroundings and got everything prepared in her own section of the bedroom.

Speaking of, looking around the house, I noticed my mother had been hard at work further redecorating the place. What used to be an abandoned and dilapidated building is now a quaint village house. It still amazes me to this day how hard she worked to make it all look habitable.

The crops, I've noticed, aren't too bad either. All the vegetables and fruits are sparkling bright colours in the sunlight, a sign of perfectly healthy crops. Or it is as far as I'm aware.

The field of grass making up the front lawn was a perfect level that it wouldn't look overgrown. It was obviously clear at this point that my mother had been busy tending to the house even while I was gone.

Enough time had passed and evening had struck. Mother prepared for us a boiling hot pot for dinner; the four of us gladly feasted on all the succulent vegetables and whatever else was added into the pot. Not long after that, we all prepared for bedtime, Yoko was the first person to fall asleep since she was so tired from getting used to her surroundings.

While she was asleep, Sohei and Hana were able to have a conversation with me. Something really important had to be brought up.

"You didn't tell Yoko about your secret, have you?" Mother asked me. I shook my head in response.

"It probably would be for the best." Sohei commented. "Although it might seem pretty cool, I can't help to think she might be freaked out."

"Actually," Mother stepped in. "I was thinking since Ame came back that it would be great to do a proper family reunion. I may even allow you two to join us."

Sohei seemed puzzled. "Family reunion? Oh, now that I think about it, didn't you say something about having a brother, Yuki?"

"Yeah," I answered his question. "Just to remind you, he is a werewolf like I am. He chose the wolf lifestyle as opposed to being human, but I guess I could understand his choice." That's when I realized what my mother had said. "Wait, what do you mean family reunion?"

"Well, you see, about Ame," Mom began to answer. "he's alright, don't worry. But somehow, whilst I was hiking the other week, it felt as if I found him again. Although I wasn't sure at first, the wolf almost instantly recognized my scent.

"From then, I was able to, in a way, communicate with him again. I was able to feed him, play catch and even sit around whilst he rested on my lap. But now that you're here, I'd say now is the most opportune time for us to reunite together, for old times' sake."

I prospered at the idea of seeing my brother again after so long, but it got me pondering about something else. "Will this mean I have to tell Yoko my secret?"

"I mean, logically speaking," Sohei explained. "It would be pretty hard to explain why you're having a family reunion with a wild animal, not without context that is. I guess it's for the best you tell her sometime before it happens."

"Sohei's right, Yuki." Mom agreed. "Maybe you could tell her the next morning since we'll be having the reunion the day after."

"I suppose." I agreed. "I'll find the best time to do it tomorrow."

"It's a deal then." Sohei also agreed on Hana's proposal. "We'll tell Yoko about your secret tomorrow."

"We?"

"We will tell her together." Mom further explained. "It's only best that she knows she's not the only one who knows."

"Well then, that's the way it'll be, then."

We settled on an agreement and decided to talk to Yoko about my secret tomorrow, in hopes of giving her proper context for the family reunion. I could only hope she wouldn't get too freaked out about this. If anything, she would find something like this very cool. She is very much into fantasy stories after all.