Epilogue

Ten years later

"Mom! Tori's not giving me back my book!"

"She started it! I want my crayons back!"

"You gimme that book, Tori! I need it!"

"You gimme my crayons first!"

Kimiko sighed and shook her head, glancing over at her husband who was pretending to not hear the argument.

"You get to bathe the twins tonight if I have to settle this on my own," she warned him.

Shuuichi glanced up from his paperwork, and offered an amused smile.

"That does not sound so terrible an ordeal," he responded.

"Today is paint day. Do you really think they won't paint themselves when Yukina's not looking?"

That seemed to give him pause, and after a moment he stood up.

"Well then, shall we see what the children are up to?"

She laughed at him softly, and they headed into the hallway to find Tori halfway up the wall, holding one of Genkai's schoolbooks over his head. Shuuichi sighed and plucked their lone son from his perch as Kimiko relieved their oldest daughter of the box of crayons she had been threatening him with.

"Really, you two, one would think you were a pair of monkeys," she scolded mildly. "I thought you were playing with Jin?"

Tori immediately got a sweet smile on his face that had both adult sharing looks of resignation. None of their children had quite managed to master the facade of calm that they admired in their father...

"Tori tied him up," Genkai confirmed with a giggle, taking her schoolbook from Shuuichi. "Uncle Jin said it was okay!"

"Uncle Jin clearly didn't realize that Tori's powers are still a bit too strong for him to control," Shuuichi sighed, putting said son down as well. "How long ago was this, Tori?"

"Umm..." The seven-year-old frowned a little, green eyes glittering with memory as he thought. "'Bout an hour?"

"All yours dear," Kimiko grinned.

Shuuichi sighed again, and shook his head, then took Tori's hand.

"Come on, let's go let Uncle Jin out of the vines."

"Okay!"

"Maybe a lesson on energy control too?" Kimiko suggested, trying not to laugh.

"Yes, and that."

Resigned, perhaps, but also amused; Kimiko watched with pleasure and pride as Shuuichi swept his son up and playfully carried him down the hall before turning a look on her daughter... who seemed entirely unrepentant, albeit a little nervous.

"You know you're supposed to let one of us know when you're practicing with your powers," Kimiko scolded gently. "You could hurt someone."

"Uncle Jin said it was okay, though!" Genkai protested.

"Uncle Jin has clearly been hanging around Chu too much," she replied dryly. "You know the rules, Gen."

Genkai drooped a little.

"...But it was really funny."

"I'll just bet," and she leaned down to gently tweak her daughter's nose. "But the rules are there for reasons. Just because Jin can take it doesn't mean you should do it until you're sure of your control. If Tori's vines wrapped around some of your school friends, that would be bad. They could get hurt, and we could all get in trouble. Okay?"

Genkai sighed a little, then nodded.

"Good girl. Go put your stuff away; the twins will be home soon."

"Okay. What's for supper?"

"You'd have to ask your father, dear. After he's done instructing your brother. Now hurry up, you need to get in some practice of your own."

The ten-year-old bounced down the hall, and Kimiko watched her go with a half-smile, shaking her head slightly. All four children had all the energy of puppies, and sometimes the brains as well...

Genkai's energy abilities had manifested early, and much like Kimiko's own, had shifted her eye color from soft brown to a deep purple. Energy control had predated combat, since no one had wanted little green energy balls scorching the walls or floors, or her then-two-years-old brother. She was the only redhead of the children at that. She seemed to enjoy looking quite a bit like her father, though her attitude was much more like her Uncle Yusuke...

Tori was the only boy of the family; he had inherited Shuuichi's gift for plants, which he was still working on getting the hang of. It often led to people getting tied up, as he seemed to have an affinity for vine-type plants. He was a little calmer, and idolized his older sister, having been trailing her as soon as he was able to crawl... not that it stopped them from fighting.

The twins, Hikari and Natsumi had been something of a surprise; Kimiko had planned on one more child, not two, and these two certainly kept them all hopping. They hadn't developed powers yet, but both Shuuichi and Kimiko knew it was only a matter of time, and were hoping for a somewhat less dramatic reveal than Tori had given them.

An oddity in genetics—something Kimiko thought was born from Kurama more than Shuuichi—had led to all children carrying a streak of silver in their hair; it stood out much more in the black hair of the younger three than in Genkai's fiery red,and had necessitated in various other adults being assured that yes, it was natural, and no, they were not dyeing their children's hair. They had the same argument over Hikari's yellow eyes, and Kimiko had privately wondered why people seemed to think she would put color contacts in her child's eyes.

As always she shrugged a little and dismissed it, turning instead to go to the second practice hall where she would meet her daughter and run her through both energy exercises and kata.

"Never a dull moment, hm?" Toya said a little wryly as he met her in the hall.

"Nope. Your boy's tied up in my main practice hall again, by the way. Mind telling him to stop encouraging my son to push himself?"

Toya sighed a little.

"I doubt Jin would listen..."

"Well, try, because if he does it again, I'm going to chuck him in the ocean."

"Just so he can come back and get you all wet?"

"Toya..."

Toya grinned a little, holding his hands up.

"I'll tell him."

"Good."

Shuuichi silently stepped in and helped Kimiko straighten out blankets as the children had finally succumbed to sleep, tucking in a toy more firmly here, and smoothing hair out of the face there. She smiled warmly at him, and he smiled back, though he waited to give her a kiss until the door was closed behind them.

"Everything's ready?" she asked, leaning against him comfortably.

"Yes. Koenma says it shouldn't take too long; Jin and Toya are ready to get moving so that we can get this done quickly."

She nodded, and he saw a familiar light flickering in her eyes; she was ready to fight the idiot who'd thought calling her out was a good idea. She glanced slightly to the side and smiled.

"Hiei's here too, I see."

"He claims it's because he doesn't actually trust Shishiwakamaru to know which end of the sword to hold," Shuuichi chuckled a little. "I believe he just wanted a chance to see his nephew."

"Sounds like Hiei," she agreed.

Yukina had agreed to come up and watch the children while they were away; with her came Kazuma and their four-year-old son Hien. Hiei still refused to admit that he was flattered by the namesake, but whenever Yukina came to the compound, it didn't take him very long to turn up too.

"Is he ever going to admit they're related?" she asked as they headed towards the front of the temple.

"When he's ready, perhaps..."

"So, no."

Shuuichi laughed and lightly kissed her temple.

"Some day. But not this one."

She just snorted in derisive amusement, and they stepped out into the moonlight, to begin a new step on their journey.