A/N: This was originally going to be a 10k epilogue but, it met quite the untimely demise this last week. I took that as a little murmur from fate to reevaluate that thought process. It also comes as no surprise that Beth is in serious need of content while she recovers from a surgery, so the new plan is to forgo an "epilogue" by definition, and just post that 10k in shorter chapter lengths. It'll also give me a chance to flesh out the epilogue a little more, and I think that's a good thing.

So, plan on another 3 parts, even though chapter length is much shorter this time around.

Lilies and Lilacs
Epilogue part 1

Time, while a harsh mistress, was not entirely an unfair one.

Their group was family, as Shizuru soon learned. You couldn't have one person without them all. It was a fact that was strangely unnerving at times. An unspeakable comfort during others. She couldn't fault the dynamic, even if it was questionable.

Nao's words were sharp, her actions were crass, and her temper was as unpredictable as a typhoon. Natsuki's temper wasn't quite as terrible, her words blunted by true concern, and her modesty was a vice that kept her at bay more often than not. The stoic Akira left many questions unanswered, though, Shizuru found her support to be some of the most solid out of the group when ciaos ran rampant.

In fact, trouble of all sorts became a very common thing, strangely enough.

The siblings were the balm to an otherwise motley crew. The glue that held unquestionably fragile pieces together. Shizuru never quite figured out how three terribly brash individuals could cling to Mai's gentle demeanor and Takumi's kindness. In fact, she often felt herself at odds with the total lack of recourse that the group seemed to employ.

There was enough teasing to go around. Equal amounts of insults and honest threats to keep an air of danger around them. Although, Shizuru learned quickly that such things were nullified by tragedy instantly. Pain kept them together when fair weather tore them to shreds.

Although the constant fighting lingered, so too did the unfathomable loyalty that Akira had mentioned to expect.

A strange group, had become even stranger after Akira became pregnant with her first child. It was that announcement that solidified a woman as the head the next branch family. The last name of Tokiha becoming its own standalone power among the already high pedigree that the Okuzaki bloodline carried.

Such a weight was made even more noticeable because of Shizuru's own prestigious bloodline. Her relationship with Mai something viewed with curiosity among Akira's gigantic family. Many had no clue what to think of it, a feeling that Shizuru often shared. Still, it was bliss, even during the hardest of days.

Akira was allotted a group of homes on the Okuzaki premises, and as such, a new generation began. A legacy rising anew from the ashes. The speed of such things were blinding, and the life that Shizuru knew became something entirely different, her fate flying on the wind haphazardly.

Amazingly so.

"That time of year again." Mai sighed as she sat back on the sofa near the fireplace. "I hope that the staff can make do without me for a weekend."

"Well, if not, I don't mind if you go in for a few hours here and there." Shizuru said quietly with a shrug of her shoulders. Her focus remained on her needlework, something that wasn't her best, and yet the furthest from her worst.

"I'd rather not since we will be looking after all of the children, even the baby." Mai said conversationally. "You really shouldn't be lifting much in your condition."

Shizuru placed a palm over her own growing belly. "Well, maybe not. Even so, I can certainly keep the children out of trouble for a few hours at least. A movie or two will see to that."

Mai shook her head. "I'm playing hookey, and that's that...besides, it's that time of year again too."

Shizuru sighed a put down her needlework. "It is, isn't it?" At that, she looked over to the china cabinet, and the two doors locked by a key. "I suppose I'll take some of the good brandy over to them, it isn't as if I can drink it anyway."

Life had a way of becoming dull. Taunting those who questioned it with sickeningly accurate karma. It also had a way of turning the darkest nights into the brightest of days. Though, it was anyone's guess what cosmic powers were at play to cause such a thing. It was nice to be blissfully ignorant of the darkness that life flung their way at any given truth.

Nao wanted to believe that she'd made the right choice. She wanted to have faith that God had chosen to guide her down this path because it was safe, and although it wasn't perfect, it was home. The ass-backward logic was one that tickled Nao just as easily as it infuriated her.

The mere thought had her swigging deeply of a bottle of cheep rum, emptying what little was left. She had assumed that grieving would be an easy thing to do, the loss of life a normal trial to overcome. It was as natural as anything else precious and fleeting. Just as life itself was breathtaking, death was sometimes a greater gift. One that instilled the future of others.

The child playing in the grass bore testament to that, even if on a day like today, Nao couldn't bring herself to smile.

Instead, she leaned out over the porch, her pipe perched in her hand, watching the new day…another day that her mother would never see. Maybe it was selfish, but guilt was something she clung to easily. She thought she'd grow up one day, but a pair of torn and beaten up black jeans made her feel like she was still an angry, wayward youth. Truth was, she was very nearly pushing thirty, and her hoodie had seen better days.

She wasn't a child anymore, and she wasn't a young adult either. Stress had begun to even make her look over than her age. Antidepressants didn't work, and her addictions were the only thing that numbed her.

"Oh, not again. You promised me you'd quit." Natsuki said as she came out from the front door. "You're going to kill yourself one day." Dressed in a pair of black slacks and an equally dark shirt, her long hair was done up in a simple braid.

Lime green eyes met emerald. "I said I'd quit if we ever moved your dad in to live with us." Nao grumbled darkly, an angry quirk lifting the side of her upper lip.

"Yamada would smack the smirk right off of your face, if he heard you calling him that." Natsuki laughed then as she came to sand by Nao's side.

"Old bastard won't listen for shit, so why should I?" The retort was dry, rhetorical, and distant.

Natsuki knew better than to try and answer it, and instead let her fingers trail of Nao's arm and onto her back. "Really though, I want you to quit smoking." The touch itself wasn't particularly intimate, but it never had to be. "You only do it out of some weird habit. If it's because of memories or something, don't you think you should tell them the truth?"

How many times had she considered it, only to not say a word? Nao wasn't sure anymore, she'd lost count. "Nah, it's been years." Nao said quietly, her words lingering in the wisps of smoke. "Besides, I'm not good at that sentimental crap." As she considered that, she put the pipe back to her lips, letting it sit there for another moment. "This is the only family I've got…need to look after it." She said with a flick of the lighter.

Natsuki nodded, looking around the cul-de-sac that that fed into a much larger community. The land belonged to Akira's family, and it was divided among the several branches of her family. These small homes were quaint, but warm enough for the coldest winter. It wasn't much, but they hadn't wanted a lot either. "Family…hmm, Mai's made you soft."

"Not Mai." Nao bit out. "Not Takumi either." Pocketing the silver lighter that she carried on her person, she stretched and gestured to the street. "Pup, it's been a long time, and I'm tired. This is the last time we're doing this, got it?"

Natsuki sighed and nodded, but she didn't believe it. "You say that every year."

Lime eyes narrowed. "Bitch."

"Better than an asshole." Natsuki shrugged before sending Nao a meaningful look. "We should get going…"

Nao meandered out to the middle of the yard, where a young boy looked up from his place with a magnifying glass. He was the second child that Akira had given birth to, and the only boy. "Hey, squirt, I got places to be today. Go torture bugs at your aunt's house."

The boy with violet eyes blinked despondently. "Do you think they let me do anything that I want?"

Nao roller her eyes. "Well, fuck it then, it's a party." She said as she picked him up and put him on her shoulders. "Come on kid, let's go see if we can't find ourselves a ghost."

Natsuki shook her head, inwardly sighing at Nao's antics, though she didn't say a word about it. Instead, with a few cones of incense in her pocket, they walked side by side to the cemetery, where a grave marker would wait to be cleaned.

At least for another year.

"Oh, that's real good…" Mai sighed as she saw Nao abduct the young boy. There was something that bothered Mai about Nao and babysitting, although she wasn't very good at pinpointing what exactly that was. "Nao! Nao, no smoking!" Mai called the trio from the kitchen window. "Natsuki, no speeding!" She wondered if she'd been heard until Nao flipped her the middle finger in reply.

Mai sighed, rubbing her temple, suds from the dishes dripping down her arm as she muttered to herself. "Honestly, what's with her?"

"Sis, you okay?" Takumi asked as he entered from the side door of the kitchen.

"Oh, just peachy." Mai said with a shake of her head. "Nao abducted your son, and then flipped me off on top of it."

"That doesn't surprise me." In his arms, he held a little girl, a diaper bag slung across his shoulder. She was his third, and last child. "The boy's a terror, I'll be lucky if he doesn't adopt half of her bad habits."

Clicking her tongue, Mai agreed. "Saving grace, Natsuki's usually with them." Even so, she couldn't deny that she thought was Nao an interesting remodel in her own ways. Her crass words and rough attitude gave a perspective that no one else could attain. "Helps to level the playing field."

Takumi nodded, but he wasn't completely sure of that. "Are you sure that you want to watch all three of them while we're gone? I can always take the baby with me."

Mai sent little brother a glare. "Give me that baby girl before someone warps her." Plucking her niece from her father's grasp and onto her own hip, she handed him a lunch bag instead. "How long is the conference this time, a week?"

"Ten days." Takumi sighed at length. "I'd stay here with the kids if I could, but Akira's father's seems to be getting on in his years. Someone needs to help him while Akira looks over the new students."

"Speaking of that, if Nao has Ren, and Saki is here, then where's Hana?" Mai asked as she watched Takumi put the luggage in the corner.

"Three guesses." Takumi said with a soft smirk.

Mai rolled her eyes, but her smile stayed soft. "If she's not trying to scale houses, or fling weapons at people, that means she's with Shizuru."

"Bingo." Takumi nodded. "Not that I mind, at least when I know she's loitering around here she isn't trying to kill her cousins."

"On come on Takumi, she isn't that bad." In fact, in Mai's humble opinion, Hana was the one to most take after her mother. "She has a lot to live up to if she wants to surpass her cousins. Your fault for starting late, you know."

Takumi nodded, feeling as if he missed a step somewhere. He was the stay at home father, the doting parent that Akira simply wasn't. She never had what one might call maternal instinct, but, her own feelings came across in her strict ways. "Anyway, I really appreciate it."

Mai smirked, but waved him off anyways. "Go, go, you have a ferry to catch."

Yeah, thanks again." He said as he waved, closing the door behind him.