Disclaimer: Toei's, not mine

Notes: Spoilers for the entire series. And let's all hope I got the honorifics right.

--

"You don't have to do this alone," Ayase reminded her one last time as he parked the vehicle.

"That's right," Sion piped up from the back seat. "We could go with you, or I could call them and say that the Bureau decided that we needed you to fill out some more forms before you can visit, or--"

"I'll be fine." Yuuri stood up as the door shut behind her. It wasn't that she didn't understand (or didn't appreciate) what they were trying to do, but this was something she was going to have to do by herself.

Before she could leave, she felt someone grab her wrist. Turning around, she saw it was Domon.

He smiled uneasily, letting go so he could scratch the back of his head. "Listen, Yuuri... I kind of went through a less extreme version of what you're going through right now, so trust me," he said as his features grew serious, "they may not be how you remember them, but they still care about you. Nothing can change that."

This time she smiled. "I know." She turned away again; feeling a little less... whatever she was feeling right now than she had on the ride there.

"Don't forget, we're coming to pick you up at six!"

"Right, and then we're going out to dinner!"

"Are you sure you want to walk the rest of the way? Because I don't mind driving a little further..."

Since her back was turned to them, Yuuri figured it was safe to roll her eyes. Apparently, not only was her family still alive in this timeline, she also had three overprotective brothers.

--

It wasn't until she was standing at the front door that Yuuri was fully aware of how absurd she was being. This had been her home all her life, after all. If she could have returned to it every night after her family was killed, why couldn't she now?

... Okay, that had been a stupid question. But the fact that she had been avoiding this in the past month since they had returned remained.

She probably would have put if off even longer if it weren't for whom she had been rooming with while she tried to pretend her family wasn't alive and well and waiting for her to come home: Sion. He had never said anything, of course. She doubted that it had even crossed his mind (especially since the Bureau was trying to kill him with paperwork ever since he accepted their offer of a promotion), but over time it had become painfully clear to her the sheer hypocrisy of hiding from her once again happy family with the one member of their team who, even after changing the future twice, had no one waiting for him in this century.

So Yuuri had worked up her nerve, asked Ayase for a ride, and here she was. All she had to do now was let them know she was home.

And hope that she wasn't too different from the Yuuri they had been waiting for all this time.

Without warning the door swung open. "I'm just going out for a few things--" The middle-aged woman stopped in mid-sentence, eyes wide. Yuuri had no doubt her expression was the same. It had been years, but it was obvious who she was.

"... Kaa-san?"

"Yuuri!" She was trapped in a bone-crushing hug as the older woman swung her around. Somewhere in it all, she could hear her mother gush about how it was so good to see her, and everyone had missed her so much, but now she was back and everything was all right now and Mei would be home from class in an hour and wouldn't she be surprised to see her older sister, and now that she noticed, her long lost baby girl was looking a little pained, would she like to come inside and have some water?

Finally, Yuuri managed to squirm free. "That sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Kaa-san." She remembered that her mother had always been full of energy. When she was little, she had taken delight in the fact that while other parents would collapse on nearby benches while their children played, her mother was never too tired to play with her. Now, she wasn't quite sure how to handle it.

Well, she can't be any worse than Domon, she reminded herself as she let her mother lead her inside.

--

So far, things were going as well as she could have expected. After impromptu embraces from her father and Mei (she had a sneaking suspicion that their Yuuri had been more touchy-feely than she was), they had all sat down for lunch, which had given Yuuri a chance to take in her surroundings. It was the same house... but it felt different. Crowded, almost. That, she mused as she sipped her tea, was because there were more people with more things living here now.

She wasn't entirely sure how she felt about that... or even the people she was having lunch with. They were nice, and honestly seemed to care about her, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't shake off the feeling that they were just pleasant strangers who just happened look like her parents and sister would have, if they had lived to be their ages.

If Tatsuya could turn strangers into family, why can't you?

Yuuri closed her eyes, head resting in her hand. As if she didn't have enough regrets today...

"Nee-san?"

She looked up, and felt a twinge of guilt as her younger sister (who was now roughly Sion's age) gazed on in concern. "Are you all right? You look a little pale."

"I'm fine. I guess I was more homesick than I thought."

Mei's smile was eerily similar to the one Yuuri remembered. "Then maybe after lunch we could go take a look at your room? We probably won't be able to find anything after a year's worth of dust has settled, but it's worth a shot, right?"

"... Sure. Why not?" She hoped Mei hadn't noticed the hint of nervousness in her voice. However, judging by the worry filling her sister's eyes, she had.

Yuuri was wondering if there was anything she could do to stop Mei from worrying when her father stood up. "Well, I have to get back to work."

Her mother's face fell. "What?! But Yuuri just got home!"

He chuckled nervously. "I know, but this is the case we've been working on for nearly a year. And I'll be back as soon as they let me, really."

"But what about--"

"It's okay, Tou-san. It's not like any of us are going anywhere soon, right?"

He grinned broadly at her. "I knew you'd understand, Yuuri!" Before he left, however, he leaned down.

"I'm glad you're finally home," he whispered in her ear. And with that, he was gone.

Yuuri knew her mother wasn't exactly thrilled with the situation, but as he watched him leave, she felt... something familiar. Her father had always taken his work seriously, and seeing that he still did was physical proof that some things simply did not change.

It was... reassuring. To an extent.

"You ready, Nee-san?" When she saw Mei's face again-- an almost pitiable attempt to look happy, Yuuri could feel even that little bit of reassurance melt away.

--

Even while growing up, Yuuri had never spent much time in her bedroom. She had usually opted for the couch after a long night of studying, or later on in her life, work. But even if she took that into mind, she didn't remember having so many... things. The Yuuri of this time obviously had done a lot of collecting.

"Something on your mind, Nee-san?" Mei was sitting on the bed, trying to get her to open up again. This Mei was every bit as nosy as the one she had grown up with.

"Oh, nothing... say, I own a lot of albums, don't I?"

Mei perked up a little. "Well, yeah. Remember back when you were planning to be a big rock star and... you don't, do you?"

There was nothing to be gained by pretending otherwise. "No. I'm sorry."

Making no attempt to look happy now, Mei picked up one of the myriad albums, staring intently at its cover as she spoke. "The... the Bureau said that because of changing the future, you might not remember everything. That you might have a memory that we don't, or vice-versa... but to forget something that was so much a part of you..."

Finally, Mei looked at her again. "It's more than that, isn't it? Something happened to you. Something big."

"Mei..." Yuuri balled her hands into fists. She couldn't even think about... him without flinching, how could she even begin to--

"You don't have to tell me anything."

"What?"

Mei stood up, smoothing out the blankets. "It's taken you a month just to come home, Nee-san. I figure something must've happened if you were so..." Mei paused and grimaced. "I don't want to say you were afraid, since that's something I can never imagine you being. I guess the word I'm looking for is 'reluctant.'"

"...That sounds about right."

Yuuri had looked away at this point, so the only way she knew that Mei was behind her was the gentle hand on her shoulder. "But just know that we're here for you. I'm here for you."

She was silent for a moment, trying to think of a proper way to phrase her feelings. Then, finally, she wiped off the dust on an album lying on her dresser as an idea hit her. "I really don't remember owning any of these... so I was hoping maybe tomorrow we could listen to them together?"

Mei smiled at her, but this time the familiarity behind it was more reassuring than anything else Yuuri could remember.