Sayuri was greeted by a large group hug the instant she stepped through the gates to Wayne Manor. Barbara, Steph and Jason had been rather glad to see her after so long thus the affection was quite expected from their side.

"Sayuri, we missed you!" Steph remarked when they pulled apart, a wide smile dancing on her face.

"I missed you all too," she replied, "feels great to be with you guys."

"Where had you been?" Barbara asked her as they had started to go inside, "at first we all got worried why you were never meeting us again. I mean, the phone calls are all fine but us three have a lot more fun when we are together."

Sayuri nodded, an understanding look taking over features, "I know. I just had some old stuff to take care of. When I heard about Tim and Dad, I had come to Gotham in such a hurry that I left everything hanging back there."

"Oh, I see."

"But weren't you like taking a break from us as well?" Jason remarked, his eyes focusing a little sharper than usual.

Sayuri realized instantly that Jay had seen through that excuse. However, it didn't take her long to divert the topic effortlessly. "Does that mean you missed me too, Jason?" 

"Of course not," his reply was immediate, "I don't miss anyone. Not even these lot I'm stuck with."

"Hey, you didn't mean that!" Steph and Richard spoke up in alarm, eyeing him as if he had said something quite offensive.

"We're family, Jay, normal people don't say stuff like that about family," Dick elaborated.

Jason rolled his eyes incredulously, "and who the frick told you I was normal?"

However, Richard was eyeing him with a somewhat stern look, as if warning him not to ask any such questions from Sayuri.

"Are you two going to welcome me by a petty old banter?" Sayuri spoke up, noticing the slight tension between the two, "and here I thought you guys were going to be happy to see me."

"Of course we're happy, extremely happy to be precise," a smile flashed on Jason's face as he replied, "it's just that I can't miss the opportunity of flustering old Dickybird here. As for what you said right now, Sayuri, I'm pretty sure one of us has been seeing you much more often than the others."

"Oh, you mean Tim..."

"Excluding Tim," he emphasized, a mischievous spark dancing in his eyes.

Barbara took hold of the situation at that, "Jason, now if you've finished with the dramatics, would you kindly step aside? You're blocking the entrance."

"These aren't dramatics, Barb," he stepped aside to let them enter, though the smirk on his face had only widened, "these are predictions of the future. A rare talent, mind you."

Stephanie shrugged, "don't tell me the Lazarus Pit bestowed you a third eye to see the future as well."

"Technically, you don't have to have a third eye to see what I'm seeing," Jason's smirk hadn't faltered yet, "it's just that you guys are willingly turning a blind eye to it."

Tim spoke up for the first time ever since they had come to the Manor, "Jason, in case your third eye hasn't already shown you; Alfred has made some steak today as well."

"Really?"

"Yup, it's in the oven along with the baked potatoes."

"Nice try at changing the topic, Babybird, though I have to admit; I can't wait for dinner time now that you've told me."

But Jason had to wait for dinner as the others had planned a lot of fun for the day. They had a movie marathon, a shopping spree as well as a nice picnic in the gardens.

Dick had even bought the tickets to the amusement park, stating their new rides were too good to be missed.

By the end of the day, they were all exhausted, though dinner was a highlight for them when they returned. Bruce had come back from work as well and joined them at the table.

"Hi Bruce!" The whole group greeted him as they settled down to eat.

Bruce had given a short nod in reply before focusing back on his food. It was quite usual for him to be silent since all the chatter was provided by the rest of the family.

"You won't believe what happened today," Richard initiated the conversation with an enthusiastic gleam in his eyes, "we finally made Tim take the roller coaster. It was worth it, you should have been there too."

"Though I'll let you know that there's nothing so thrilling about sitting in a carriage that's a bit off the rockers," Tim spoke up, "I mean, he can jump off a ninety foot building like it's no big deal but still screams at the top of his lungs when riding a roller coaster."

"My ears were bleeding by the time we got off," Jay winked at Richard who was getting slightly red in the face, while giving Tim a high five, "and I can bet the pitch his voice achieves at that moment is higher than Mariah's G7."

Both Sayuri and Barbara had smiles on their faces recalling the roller coaster ride while Stephanie had burst out laughing at Jay's remark. 

Richard frowned a little as he protested, "but that's the point of a roller coaster; if there are no screams, there are no thrills. Right, Bruce?"

"No, you can't get his approval on this one," Steph remarked amid her laughter, "remember the time we went to the roller coaster with Bruce?"

Barbara's smile widened as well as she told Sayuri, "his reaction was no different from your brother's. Sat still for the whole ride then  got off as if he had just come back from Sunday church."

And at that moment Alfred got the steak out so all of them were treated to a couple minutes of Jason professing his undying love for Alfred's expert cooking.

After dinner, they had to retreat to their respective rooms. Though Jason had said that they would wait till Bruce fell asleep then go to the Batcave for a round of carom. Sayuri was to stay with the girls as usual but before following them to their room upstairs, she stopped Bruce when he was heading to his study.

"Um, Mister Wayne, can I have a word?"

Bruce paused and turned around to see her standing in the doorway. He gave a slight nod, "of course. Would you like to come in the study?"

"Yeah, I guess."

At times she was surprised how different Bruce really was from that persona he had created in front of others. People expected him to be serious, aloof and intimidating but there he was, standing with a polite smile and speaking to her as if she was part of the family too.

She followed him inside his study which was a rather organized space with a bookshelf in the corner, a large working desk with chairs in the center and other items of sentimental value such as framed photographs of all the Wayne kids.

"Please take a seat," he gestured her and took his own seat in front of her at his desk.

"I... I wanted to say thank you," she was a bit hesitant at first talking to him but decided to get it done with anyway, "I'm really grateful for everything that you've done for me and Tim. And especially this time, when I really don't know what would have happened if you and your family hadn't been there for me."

"There's no need for thanking me," he replied, giving her a slight reassuring smile, "I had told you the first time I met you that since you're Tim's sister, you're just as important to us as he is. We have to be there for you."

She was silent for a while as if contemplating his words, "Mister Wayne..."

"You can call me Bruce."

"Well, Bruce, I really didn't mean to cause you any trouble. I just... It got out of hand. And I'm sorry I caused you so much inconvenience, you had to recondition the whole Arkham Hospital on such short notice and you're probably paying so much for that..."

Her words followed in a rush as if she wanted to get the burden off herself until he interrupted her, "Sayuri, child, please don't make me feel bad by thinking like this. I consider you a part of my family now and there is absolutely no difference between you, Barbara or Stephanie in my eyes. I'm only trying to do what a family member should in this situation."

There was a slight pause as Sayuri was rather lost on words. She hadn't expected him to be so nice but then she recalled what Richard had said to her earlier: He is extremely nice, it's just that he prefers to not be very expressive but we all know that he really cares for us all. That's why we make such a good family together.

"As for Arkham, the initiative has been in progress for quite some time now. That's precisely why a top security department was established in the city prison so that the criminals could be held there instead. Me and Richard had been working on restoring Arkham from an Asylum to the hospital it used to be, regardless of the fact that you had to go there."

"But still, I feel debted to you for all this kindness," she spoke, "if there is any way that I can repay you, please let me know."

He shook his head, looking at her as if she had just told him a joke, "there is absolutely no need."

"But Bruce..."

A soft smile played on his lips as he changed the topic instead, "I still remember when I had taken Dick in after the death of his parents. It was all very new to me, having a little kid in the house wasn't something I was accustomed to. But then everything fell into place. After Dick came Jason and dealing with him was a lot different than I had expected from my past experience and so was with Tim and Stephanie. With every person that became part of my family, I learnt something new and let me tell you that no matter how different all of them are among themselves, they all have taught me to embrace life like it never had been before. And I'm glad I have them with me."

She was listening to him attentively and was curious because she had never heard him talk for that long.

"You do know that I haven't adopted Barbara and she's not legally a part of my family. But she is just as important to me as everyone else here. It's the same with you, Sayuri. Even if you are not a Wayne by birth or adoption, you are still a part of my family. Next time I don't want to hear you thanking me or saying that you feel debted for anything. Understand?"

A soft smile graced her features as she nodded, "you are actually very different from what you make people believe about yourself."

He smiled as well in affirmation, "when one is in a position I'm in, it is necessary to maintain opposite facades."

"So as not to give away your true identity?"

"Precisely."

She stood up to leave knowing that Barbara and Steph would be waiting for her, "well then, I really appreciate this. Thank you."

"You're welcome, child, though this is the last time you're saying thank you to me."

She nodded, "good night, Bruce."

"Good night."

***