"Koichi-niichan?"
A little girl, about seven years old, cautiously peeked into her brother's room.
Koichi was pacing the star-patterned carpet, a manic glint in the indigo gaze as he glanced at his younger sister. He came to a stop, biting his lip, eyes determined.
"I've got a plan. But I need your help, Sayuri."
Sayuri glanced towards the end of the hall, where she knew their parents were still grieving. Tou-san had been... broken, for the lack of a better word. She's never seen him so distraught.
If her brother had an idea to make it better, she'd help. Though she doubted there was anything they could do in this... tragedy.
"What is it?"
The ten-year-old boy gestured for her to come in, using the flick of a wrist to close and lock the door behind her. He took a deep breath.
"It's... kind of dangerous. And forbidden." He whispered the last part.
"Forbidden...? As in..."
"Forbidden for our kind."
Sayuri tilted her head, azure eyes growing wary. "How is breaking the magic law going to help this case?"
The boy sighed. "Elemoria is going to be in shambles soon, it's not like there's anyone left to judge us. Besides, we could save everyone."
Koichi could practically see the gears turning through the deep blue eyes, her too-smart expression at the moment making her look exactly like Kaa-san. He winced when her eyes widened.
"Niisan, we can't!"
"We have to! We need to save our grandparents!"
"But-"
"You heard them, Sayu-chan. This has been planned for years. If we could go back and warn them, none of this needs to happen."
The girl shook her head, gulping. It was tempting. She'd do anything to get her beloved Tou-san out of his grief. However, what her brother was suggesting...
"We can't..."
"I can, but only with your help..."
Sayuri was reluctant. There was a reason such a powerful action was forbidden, as she learned in school. They really shouldn't abuse their cosmic powers like that.
"If it was a solution, Kaa-san would've-"
"You know Kaa-san is trying to help Tou-san, he can't think about anything else right now. It's our only chance." He gripped his sister's shoulders, desperate. "It's up to us, Sayuri. We need to save Elemoria and our family."
Biting her lip, the girl gave a nod. "Alright. Do you know how?"
"I've looked it up, studied it the past days. Theoretically, I only need to fuse my own energy with yours to get enough power for it to work."
"Theoretically."
She was so much like their mother with the skepticism it was scary. Koichi shrugged. "The worst that could happen is that it's not working."
"... Okay."
"No need to be scared, I've got everything under control."
Heaving a shaky sigh, Sayuri placed her hands in her brother's and closed her eyes. Her niisan wouldn't let her down.
Koichi took a deep breath and concentrated on the right spell, feeling Sayuri's magic merge with his, boosting it and making him feel almost faint with power.
A blue-ish light circled them, the floor vibrating under their feet.
Frantic footsteps came closer, the door bursting open.
Panicked voices, Tou-san's the loudest. "Koichi, no!"
The light was blinding, and then it was dark.
-x-
Sayuri tried not to hyperventilate. She had lost her sweaty grip on Koichi's hands during the whirlwind of light and energy. When she had opened her eyes, she vaguely recognized she was in Tokyo.
But it was... unfamiliar. She's never been in this part, at least she couldn't remember.
The address of home was ingrained in her memory, but she didn't quite want to ask just any stranger. Not when she could feel so many mages around. Who knew if they were hostile if she revealed who she was? They had so many enemies in the future.
She wasn't even sure if their little time travel worked... or how far back in time they went. Looking back, she probably should've insisted Koichi read up more before they attempted such a dangerous act.
Tracking down her brother magically wasn't working, strange enough. The magic felt... different. Suppressed, in a way.
She took a deep breath to calm herself. She could find her way home, she was old enough.
Navigating became a tiny bit easier when she followed the main street. Here, a few buildings were familiar at least. She probably passed through with her parents or grandparents.
She figured she just needed to find her way to Teitan Elementary first. From there, she could get home blindly.
However, while a few buildings were familiar, the rest was not. There were so many people, so many different energies and magic signatures, everything felt suppressed and weird, and she couldn't find her big brother either.
Her eyes filled with tears as she sniffed, though she bravely soldiered on, carefully avoiding running into any of the people passing her.
She had no idea how long she had wandered the streets when she reached a park. It was not exactly familiar either, but a relief to her senses.
Sayuri rubbed at her eyes as she sat down under a tree, legs hurting from walking around so much and fear of being lost, alone in an unknown time, gripping her. She should've just stayed in bed after her mother had tucked her in.
"... too much, Ran. Woah, hold on."
The girl hiccuped at the familiar voice. A second later, someone knelt in front of her.
"Hello there, is everything okay?"
Wiping her tear-filled eyes clear, Sayuri vaguely recognized a younger version of her auntie, but her full attention was on the man with the kind eyes that matched her own to a T.
She let her tears fall free again, this time in relief, and threw herself into his startled embrace, wrapping her little arms around his neck and burying her wet face in his shoulder.
She could feel his head swivel towards auntie, hand gently rubbing her back.
The woman crouched down next to them. "What's your name, sweetie?"
"Sayuri." The child mumbled into Shinichi's shoulder, sniffing her now runny nose.
Carefully, still with a warm smile, Shinichi coaxed her upright and used his handkerchief to wipe her face and help her blow her nose. It was so achingly familiar that Sayuri couldn't help but relax.
She blinked up at her mother, wondering if he had recognized her already. But besides the sort-of recognition in his eyes and slightly confused look he exchanged with Ran, he didn't acknowledge her as his daughter.
Sayuri thought it weird. While her hair was two shades lighter than his and of course longer, they shared the cowlicks and the eyes alone were a dead give-away. At least that's what her grandparents always said.
"So, Sayu-chan," Ran said, also smiling in a friendly way, "did you get lost?"
The child nodded, lips in a pout. "I lost my Niisan..."
"Here in the park?" Shinichi asked, already glancing around for someone who could be looking for the girl.
"No... Koichi-niichan and I were... we..." Sayuri trailed off, blinking at the side of Shinichi's neck. She could see parts of his soulmark, but where was his mating mark? She was sure Kaa-san's mating mark should be right next to his soulmark. Tou-san had always kissed it with his silly fond smile when he hugged him.
It was not there... but... Sayuri was sure this was her mother. Her eyes widened in the horrifying realization.
They weren't bonded yet. How far had Koichi sent them back? Did Shinichi even know about Elemoria yet? Then they wouldn't know about that yet either... Did he even know Tou-san yet?!
"Hey, no need to panic." Shinichi hurried to calm the blanching child down. The cunning resemblance to... to himself when he had been Conan was weird, aside from the hair and lack of glasses.
"What about your brother?"
"We were looking for our parents... we got separated and... now I lost him too."
She felt herself tear up again, though she bravely blinked them away. They couldn't warn them, not if they didn't know that. It was the whole reason for the catastrophe, after all, the situation that started everything.
"You know, Sayu-chan, I'm a detective." Shinichi seemed to realize she was on the verge of breaking down and smiled to calm her down. "We'll help you find your brother and your parents. But you have to help me investigate, alright?"
Sayuri sniffed and nodded with a smile. She wrapped her arms around his neck again, prompting the man to pick her up and settle her on his hip.
"Alright, you said your brother's name is Koichi. Where did you last see him?"
The girl bit her lip in thought. She couldn't just tell him it had been years in the future back at home.
She felt really safe here with her mother, despite not knowing where Koichi was. When she buried her face in his shoulder again she noted he smelled just like, well, later. It was comforting.
"I don't remember." She said tiredly, snuggling into the warm and familiar body.
"Ah, don't fall asleep yet." Shinichi urged her, gently jostling her by shrugging his shoulder. His face softened when she whined, clearly exhausted from apparently a long trek around. The whine reminded him of Kaito, weirdly enough.
"Just answer me a few tiny questions, okay?"
"Mmh?"
"How old is Koichi-kun?" It would be easier locating a teen searching for his little sister, and identifying him in general.
"Ten."
"Okay, and can you tell me your full name?" In case they had to call for the police's help locating the parents. It became more and more necessary, he mused, with the brother only being ten himself.
"I'm Kuroba Sayuri." The girl yawned and went slack in his arms, fist holding onto his shirt. She didn't feel him stiffen at her words.
"Kuroba...?" Ran frowned. "Isn't that Kaito-kun's last name?"
Shinichi, eyes wide, nodded. "But... he doesn't have any siblings... he doesn't even have his family here." He glanced down at the brown hair, now that he thought about it, the same shade as Kaito's.
The girl looking like him with Kaito's shade of hair and sharing the mage's name would make sense if they were related. But... Kaito wouldn't have lied to him about his family.
"It has to be another Kuroba family."
His childhood friend didn't seem convinced. "The similarity is creepy, though..."
Biting his lip in thought, and Ran refrained from pointing out that he looked just like the child had minutes before doing the same, Shinichi maneuvered around to pull out his cellphone.
He paused in dialing. They had found each other barely a month ago. A few hot nights had gotten them closer on a physical level, and long hours of explaining had revealed Kaito's true background.
Wrapping his mind around the existence of magic hadn't been as hard as he's thought, especially with how Kaito had explained it.
It had felt... freeing, like a knot in his mind had loosened, and suddenly he saw traces of magic everywhere. Even smelled some of the – how did he call them? - alpha mages that were living among the humans.
Finding out he was a so-called omega had been sort of a shock, especially with the implications, but he couldn't deny how complete he felt whenever he was together with his soulmate.
Shinichi shook his head to get back to the present and speed-dialed said soulmate's contact.
The mage's voice greeted him immediately, sounding weirdly distracted. "Shin-chan... I was just about to call you."
"What is it?"
"We... should probably meet up for this. Where are you right now?"
"Ekoda Park. Ran and I were going to meet up with Aoko-san."
"Oh, that's convenient." Shifting. "Do you think you could come to the Parrot? Preferably without the girls?"
"Uhm." He glanced down to the child asleep in his arm. "I mean, is it urgent?"
"It is. And we need to set out to find a girl, too. Hold on." Shinichi heard him shift around again, muffled voices, then he was back again. "Around seven-"
"Blue eyes, brown hair? Lavender pajama?"
Silence. "I take it you found her already?"
"Yeah. Guess you found her brother then?"
"You bet I did. It... can you come?" The sigh sounded exasperated, making Shinichi frown.
"Alright, I'll be there in a few."
They ended the call, Shinichi turning to Ran.
"Kaito found her brother, I think we can handle it from here. You can go ahead and meet up with Aoko-san."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm meeting up with them in the Blue Parrot just a few blocks away. I'll give you a call once we find their parents."
-x-
Jii was opening the door already when he saw Shinichi approaching, urging him inside and locking up after him again.
"They're in the back room." The elder mage directed him, much to the detective's confusion.
He adjusted the sleeping child in his arms and entered said room.
Kaito was standing near the door, arms crossed with an unreadable expression as he watched a boy sitting at the table. The ten-year-old, Shinichi had to blink a few times to make sure he was seeing right, was looking like a miniature version of Kaito.
The same shade of indigo in his eyes, the same bird's nest as hair, though it was a shade or two darker and there was a cute little tuft sticking up oddly in the back.
The child lit up at the sight of his sister, eagerly leaving his seat and – much to Shinichi's surprise – hugging him around the waist.
He rubbed his face to his shirt-clad stomach, tightening the hug.
Shinichi gave Kaito a questioning look, but the magician was appearing to be completely lost in thought. So instead, he turned his attention to the boy.
"You must be Koichi-kun."
The boy grinned tiredly up at him and nodded. "Hai." He fought a yawn.
Shinichi frowned, it was early afternoon, why were these kids so tired? Something in his chest stirred, some sort of... protectiveness?
He glanced at a worn sofa in a corner of the small room. It wasn't quite ideal, but well. He couldn't travel all the way to Beika with two exhausted kids in tow.
Not quite sure what to make of the overly clingy children, he went with his instinct and ruffled the unruly hair. Despite its spikiness, it was soft to the touch, just like Kaito's.
"Why don't you and Sayu-chan take a little nap before we go find your parents. I'm sure I can find a blanket for you two."
Koichi pouted up at him, tightening his grip on the shirt as if he didn't want to let go of him. Shinichi blinked at the behavior, looking at Kaito for help.
The mage shook his head to clear it, putting on an easy smile. "Yeah. Jii-chan won't mind if we use his guest room upstairs."
If Shinichi thought back to his own childhood, his first childhood, he's always been rather wary of strangers. Especially he wouldn't have just followed random men into a bar, or up to a small apartment (ahem). And for two children who had lost their parents somewhere in the city, they were quite relaxed with them.
Sayuri hadn't so much as stirred when Shinichi had placed her on the guest futon and tucked her in, and Koichi had hugged him unexpectedly when he had pulled the blanket up to his shoulders.
They both were overly clingy with him, which was kind of... well. Weird. And why were they even running around in pajamas?
Kaito had observed everything from afar, a thoughtful expression on his face. He watched the boy's breath even out in slumber for a few minutes before wrapping his arm around Shinichi's shoulders to guide him to the living room.
The detective relaxed against his side, though a deep frown was on his face.
"We need to inform the police. I think they ran away from home. It could be their parents neglected them, maybe-"
"Shin-chan." Kaito interrupted him, giving a short humorless laugh. "We won't be able to find their parents, in that sense."
"What are you on about?"
"You might want to sit down for this."
The detective raised a brow, but followed when Kaito steered them to the sofa.
"I was just planning the next heist with Jii when Koichi came inside. Through the locked door, into the secret work room."
Shinichi blinked in surprise. "But I thought you can only get in with magic?"
"Exactly."
"So... the kids are mages?"
Kaito nodded. "He..." He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more, "He called me Tou-san."
"What?!"
"And I believe I am."
Shinichi leaned back, unable to keep a straight expression as he stared at his soulmate.
"You... You'll need to be a little more specific."
"He has the birthmark, Shinichi." Kaito tapped his own clad shoulder, where his own mark sat. "He smells... familiar, like, I don't know how to put it. Like family. And you can't deny the similarity."
"But if Koichi and Sayuri are your children... did you...?" A spike of jealousy stirred in Shinichi, despite it being illogical. If the boy was ten, Kaito would've had to have sex as a ten-year-old himself. Still, his mind insisted.
"Shin-chan, I told you I was waiting for you, and I meant it."
The detective rubbed his temples with an annoyed sigh. "You're not making any sense, Kaito."
"Don't you think Sayuri looks a lot like you did when you were Conan?"
"So?"
"Okay, I'll cut you some slack because you only recently learned about the magic, and it really is crazy."
"Kuroba Kaito, if you don't spit it out in an instant you can sleep at your own apartment for the next three months."
"Ouch, sweetheart. Alright." He sighed. "I guess I'm still a little shocked myself. Anyways..." He glanced to the closed door where their tiny guests were sleeping.
"He said he and his sister came from the future."
"You're kidding."
"I'm not. It's... I mean, in theory it is possible, but the sheer power it requires... no mage could do it. Especially not a pair of children. And if anyone would manage, against all odds, it's strictly forbidden to meddle with the past... theoretically."
Shinichi took a deep breath. "So you're telling me, two little children managed a very powerful and forbidden... spell?... And traveled back in time."
"Our little children, as strange as that sounds. The evidence is there. The birthmark, the shift I felt earlier, their looks..."
"... Our... You mean, yours and m-mine?"
Kaito winced slightly. "Yeah. I haven't gotten to explain that part yet. I actually wanted to wait till we could find a healer here to help with the explanation... since, uhm, since I'm not exactly educated in that topic, to be honest."
Shinichi stared blankly at him.
"But if the cropped version is enough for now," the alpha hurried to say, "as far as I know, your omega genes were only partially awoken when we... well, did it the first time. When we bond for real, as it's usual in Elemoria, they awake fully. You're probably," he glanced at the closed door, "I mean, you will develop reproduction organs after that and go into heats about every three months."
"..."
"During those heats, you'll get pretty horny. And it's gonna trigger my rut..."
"... Kaito..."
"Right. Erm, and when you're in heat and I'm in rut, I have this... urge... to knot you."
"Like a dog."
"Don't compare us to dogs, please." Kaito licked his lips and rubbed at the back of his neck. "Anyways, for the technicalities and scientific explanation we'd need to talk to a healer, but that's when male omegas – you – can get pregnant. And apparently you did. Twice." Another glance at the door.
"Let's assume that's true." Shinichi said after a long pause to sort his thoughts. What was he to say to that? Freak out? "Why did they come back in time?"
"We haven't really come that far yet, to be honest. Koichi asked about you, and I was kinda in a shock..."
"Oh."
"You're taking this quite well..."
"It's hard to argue about something I have no idea about... especially if the evidence is sleeping in the next room."
Maybe, if the shock wore off, he'd freak out. But for the moment, he could only go on.
-x-
"Sayu-chan!"
The girl scrunched up her face at being woken up. She decided to ignore her brother and snuggled into the pillow.
"Seriously, wake up!"
She groaned in annoyance, cracking open her eyes to stare at Koichi.
"What time is it?" She asked, rubbing at her eyes.
"Dunno, but we have a problem."
Sayuri needed a few seconds to remember where – or rather when – they were. She sat up abruptly. "Mommy and Daddy aren't bonded yet!"
Koichi nodded gravely. "The magic is all... grainy too."
"I noticed... what does it mean?"
"I believe... that the Source hasn't stabilized it yet."
The girl sighed, shoulders slumping. "I was afraid so..."
Sharing a long stare, the siblings both shrugged. "We can't tell them."
"It's the exact sort of situation that proves why time travel is forbidden."
"We have a way bigger problem. We... without the magic stabilized, we can't get enough power to get back..."
Sayuri's eyes widened. "W-What do you mean?"
"We might be stuck here until they do find it out..."
"But we don't know when they did..."
The door opening interrupted them. Shinichi paused before trying a tentative smile.
"You're awake." He cleared his throat. "Are you hungry?"
An hour later the dishes were cleared and the four of them had settled in the living room. Evening had come, and there was bustling from down at the Blue Parrot, Jii was busy.
Kaito had been startled when the little girl got comfortable on his lap, giving him a wide grin as she snuggled up. Nevertheless he gently patted her head with an amused smile.
While they wouldn't have her for who knew how many years, she was still family. His daughter.
Koichi had stuck to Shinichi like glue, and Kaito watched in fond amusement as the boy fussed around with a blanket to cover both himself and Shinichi with it before settling down with a satisfied expression.
"So... I think it's time you explain what you're doing here."
The children exchanged a look. It was the girl who spoke up first.
"We can't tell you... at least not what we came to tell."
"We kind of... traveled too far."
Kaito raised a brow. "Is time travel possible in the future? Since it's forbidden, even if you had the power."
"It's still forbidden..." Koichi mumbled, hunching up his shoulders in defiance. "But we had to."
"The problem is," Sayuri continued, her frown identical to Shinichi's, "that we can't go back because the magic here is not stabilized yet."
"Not stabilized yet... does that mean the Source has been found?"
"Yeah, but..." The children glanced at each other again, "it was kinda the thing that started the whole catastrophe."
"Are you saying we should prevent the Source from being found?"
"NO!" The exclamation startled both of the adults. "It has to be found!"
"But you came to prevent that catastrophe, right?" Shinichi asked, trying to keep up.
Koichi heaved a heavy sigh. "We did. But it's... gah." He ruffled his hair, making it stick up even more. "We wanted to warn you, but we can't tell you now because the Source hasn't been found yet! It would change too much!"
The adults exchanged a look now.
Sayuri took Shinichi's typical thinking pose, which had Kaito almost squealing at the cuteness. There was really no doubt these were their children.
"Maybe we can tell you some things without giving too much away. But that doesn't help with the problem that we can't go back..."
Kaito ruffled her hair, making the shorter strands stick out much like his own. "Maybe we can use the hints to find the Source on our own. It shouldn't change too much for you if we do it ourselves... when has the Source... I mean, when will it be found?" Tenses were a nightmare.
"I'm not too sure..." Koichi bit his lip. "I mean, the tale's been told in the magic studies, but there's never been a specific time. You... uh, your future you, said it was before you were bonded."
Blinking, Kaito leaned back. "Well, then it couldn't have been that much later than now." He glanced at Shinichi, who raised a brow at the implication. The boy next to him winced.
"Uhm. Grandma said you took a pretty long while to bond, actually."
That had the mage frowning. Why on earth would he take ages to fully bond with his soulmate? He's yearned for it since they've found each other, after all.
However, his omega's averting gaze spoke in volumes. They'd have to talk this over once this situation was handled.
"Alright, then tell us what you can." Kaito encouraged, swallowing down a wave of disappointment. "What is the catastrophe?"
"Elemoria will fall." Sayuri hunched up her shoulders, both the children's faces sad. "The balance will be ruined and... well."
"The balance... but... how? Everyone knows to not mess with it..."
"Okay, I thought I could follow with my limited knowledge of your... your world, but I'm lost already." Shinichi sighed. "What's with the balance?"
Kaito had planned on taking Shinichi to his family's library in Elemoria after they'd bonded to have him learn about them, but he figured he'd have to change his plans.
He conjured up a hologram of a map after making sure the curtains were drawn.
The detective blinked. To him, it looked like a large island.
"This is Elemoria. Here, we have The Center." As Kaito explained, the center of the island glowed slightly. "There is the market, the conference hall, hospital, all the general buildings."
A few icons of buildings popped up. Around, tiny houses spread. "Surrounding are the living quarters. They blend into the different Courts. Every mage belongs to a court, but we all live in peace and so there's no real separation."
The houses blinked in different colors around the gray center.
"The courts each have a specialty, and each of them have a ruling family. Those belonging to the ruling family are the only ones not allowed to mate with the other courts, to keep the balance."
The places beyond the houses colored, creating some sort of color wheel.
"I belong to the White Court, our specialty are good luck charms and such. Our symbol is the clover, and all alpha heirs have a birthmark in shape of that symbol on their right shoulder." He pulled down the collar of his shirt to reveal the familiar mark.
Koichi grinned and did the same, exposing the identical mark.
"Going clockwise, we have the Yellow Court, specialized in training and breeding magical animals, like my doves. Smarter than your usual pets."
The area glowed yellow, a symbol of a wing appearing. The one next to it glowed blue and a drop symbol showed up.
"The Blue Court makes lots of Potions and medicines. Then there's the Black Court, they excel at jinxes, but are also specialized in jewels, since they're living by the mountains. Their symbol is a diamond." Kaito pursed his lips in displeasure.
"Their eldest alpha son has been here on earth for a while."
Shinichi tilted his head. "You're talking about Akai-san?"
"Yeah. I can't stand that guy." He shook his head, "Either way, the Green Court is located in the woods, they're our main source for it and they grow special magical plants and herbs."
A leaf appeared on the green section. The last one glowed red, then, a heart-shaped flame on top of it.
"And last but not least, the Red Court. They're the only ones where the ruling family is all female. The red mages excel at... let's call it 'persuasion'. One of the common red mages was in my high school class." He shuddered, thinking of Akako.
"Centuries ago, the Source of Magic was pulsing through Elemoria. All mages drew strength from it, it was there for everyone the same. But there were a few who wanted to have the magic to themselves." Kaito recounted the tale he's heard countless times already.
"Nobody knew where exactly the Source was. However, there was the legend of a woman, who was said to know everything. You'd call her a seer. She was living in The Center, and nobody could tell what Court she belonged to. It was said she'd know where to find the Source."
With a flick of the wrist, shadowy silhouettes appeared on top of the map. A small elder woman and a few younger ones.
"The power hungry mages and those who wanted to protect the Source cornered her. She's been threatened and bribed, they tried everything to get the seer to tell them where the Source was. Until the woman had enough. She cursed them."
The silhouette of the woman was enclosed by crackling magic.
"If they didn't learn to live and work together as one, they all would perish and destroy Elemoria. Then she vanished in a burst of blue light and was never seen again. It was rumored she went to human world then."
"The Courts continued fighting, and with every passing day, Elemoria broke apart. The magic dwindled, leaving everyone weak. Only when they decided on a truce everything normalized."
Shinichi bit his lip. "So something that has to do with The Source triggered another fight in the future?"
The children nodded gravely. "But it's important that the Source is found."
Kaito sighed. "For a few years now, the magic has become gradually more unstable. Our magic dwindles again. And without magic, Elemoria couldn't exist anymore. That's why everyone is looking for the Source in the human world now."
"But if it's found by those who wanted it for power-"
"Tou-san said the truce stands. If the Source is found, it will be placed in The Center and a magic wall will be pulled up that can only be broken with each Lord's or Lady's input."
Cue in Shinichi's thinking pose. "Someone must've gone against that truce. Why else would Elemoria be on the verge of destruction?"
"It was a good reason, though..."
"Koichi-niichan!" Sayuri scolded her brother. "None of that!"
Kaito licked his lips. "Is it true? That the Source is in the human world?"
The siblings glanced at each other. "Yes."
Letting out a breath, Kaito leaned back against the couch.
"That's the stone you're looking for, right?" Shinichi asked.
"Yeah. We've been suspecting it to be in a stone for a while now. Though I've thought it'd be easier to, I don't know, feel it out, you know? The Source of Magic would draw mages in, according to legends."
"If that seer hid it on purpose from mages, I'd guess she'd have masked it somehow."
The way Koichi's lips pressed tightly together, he desperately wanted to tell them something. Kaito felt the same antsy-ness to ask about it, but he knew from countless lessons with his father that meddling with time was a big no-no.
So instead of giving in, he took a deep breath. "Okay, I guess you're right." He looked at his future children. "If we find the Source, time travel is possible?"
"Not... really?" Koichi glanced at his sister, who nodded slowly. "It's kinda something not anyone can do... there are lots of... uh... requirements..." He grinned sheepishly. "Either way, if you find the Source we could definitely go back." He took note of Sayuri's thoughtful expression, knowing an idea was brewing.
"Alright... for now, we should get you to my house and tomorrow we'll get you some clothes. You can't run around in pajamas all the time." Shinichi declared. They could think about how to proceed after the... his children were taken care of properly.
