"The Scarlet Queen"
Title: “The Scarlet Queen”
Author: Trinity
Fandom: Kamen Rider Kiva
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Domestic violence mentions
Summary: In an offshoot fic from Can’t Run, Can’t Hide, Mio grapples with her guilt over the acts she should have prevented and her fractured relationship with her only daughter, Sakomi.
Suzuki Mio was sitting alone at an outdoor café, sipping tea when she saw a long black coat and white scarf move into her line of vision. Slowly, she looked up and saw her lover, the Checkmate Four’s Bishop, whom she called by his true name, Satoshi, standing before her. At her unsure gaze, he bowed.
“Queen.” He said.
“Hello, Satoshi.” She murmured softly. “This is a surprise.”
“Are you all right, Queen?” Bishop asked. “You look sad.”
“I went to Sakomi’s apartment today.” Suzuki Sakomi was Bishop and Mio’s only daughter and a Fangire Queen in her own right. “Satoru-san, her husband, said she would not see me. It brought back all the guilt I have carried for so long.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” He asked. He knew the reasons behind it already, but he knew that Mio had to get it off her chest. He sat down and looked at the mother of his child and the love of his life with concerned eyes.
The small family had all arrived from the same alternate universe, where Sakomi had been a Queen on the verge of execution because of her husband, Taiga, and his desire to be rid of her. Their family history was complicated at best, and Mio had carried a massive amount of guilt relating to how Sakomi had nearly ended up dead.
“I am a terrible mother, Satoshi.” Mio murmured. “I stood by and I watched as Taiga beat her within an inch of her life. I stood by and watched as he ordered her execution. I stood by and did nothing. She’s our daughter. I should have protected her.”
“You know full well how Taiga was, Mio.” Bishop chastised her. “If you had said anything against her, he’d have killed you himself.”
“He didn’t kill you.”
“He couldn’t afford to be rid of me, but that didn’t mean that I could say what I pleased. Every time I tried to get him to stop harming Sakomi, he called me soft. I told her that was my daughter and he said he didn’t care. She belonged to him. It was infuriating to see our daughter reduced to nothing more than property.”
“She hates me, Satoshi.” Mio sounded distraught. “Our child hates me for what I did not do.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Bishop sipped from a glass before him.
“Satoshi, it was my fault her lover was killed. It was my fault she was nearly executed. I could have saved her from destruction. And what did I do? I did nothing.”
“She doesn’t hate you for that. She understands that Taiga beat you the way he beat her. He also had you terrified for your life. “
“But Satoru’s death…”
“Unforgivable!” Bishop actually got angry at this. “He tricked you! I had no idea what he was up to until it was far too late. He made you think you were punishing a traitor Fangire, but in truth, it was Satoru. He knew you didn’t have any idea what Satoru looked like. And he used that to his advantage.”
“But Satoru still died.” Mio was very quiet. “And it was still my fault.”
“Mio, enough.” Bishop was very firm. “Sakomi doesn’t hate you. I know she doesn’t.”
“Then why won’t she see me?”
“Because she got some news that bothers her.” Bishop replied. “She has learned that somehow Taiga has gotten into this world and he’s looking for her. So, she is hiding.”
At this news, Mio grew almost white. “He’s what?”
“He’s looking for her.”
They were words Mio dreaded. The very idea of Sakomi being dragged back to the hellhole that had been her previous life made her angry and she gritted her teeth. “He’s not going get her back. I will die before I let her go back.”
“This is your chance, my love.” Bishop took her hands in his and smiled. “This your chance to be the mother she needs. To protect her, to make sure she is safe.”
“I don’t know if she will let me.” Mio looked into her cup of tea.
“You are her mother.” Bishop told her. “That’s what mothers do. They protect their young. It’s your chance to protect Sakomi in the way she needs you.”
Mio and Sakomi’s relationship had always been more fractured than Mio was willing to admit. They had never truly gotten along, as Mio had been young and scared when she became pregnant and left Sakomi with Bishop. Mio did come back to her husband and daughter, but the damage had been done and things between Sakomi and Mio had always been cold.
Even Sakomi’s rescue and marriage had done little to defrost things. Mio still carried so much guilt that sometimes, she could not look at her daughter and not see the scars that Taiga once left. And this was in spite of the fact that Sakomi’s body and face were free of scars and sadness.
“Mio…” Bishop began, but Mio stood up.
“Satoshi.” She was showing more confidence than she had in a long time. “I’m going to go. I have to protect Sakomi.” Mio happened to have her apartment in the same building as Sakomi. “I will wait. And Taiga will pay.”
Finally Mio had had enough. “Mark my words, Satoshi. He will NEVER hurt my baby again.”
When Mio sensed Taiga’s presence, it was very late. She had barely slept, she was running on coffee and cold, angry fury. Her mind was consumed with memories of the torture she had been forced to silently watch, of watching Sakomi be nearly dragged to her own execution and bee locked up in the Tower of Kyoto and her anger only grew. And when she heard Sakomi’s terrified scream, the Fangire Queen felt something in her snap.
Taking on her indigo Pearlshell form, Mio managed to get into Sakomi’s apartment just in time to hear Taiga berating Sakomi, who lay on the floor, bruised and bleeding, moaning in pain.
Mio’s rage only grew and just as Taiga was coaxing Sakomi to come “home”, asking her where he was going to find a wife as compliant as her, she remained silent no longer.
“Maybe….” She summoned her pearls to shower Taiga like hail. “…you’ll find one in hell.” She pummeled Taiga with the full force of her rage, sending him into a wall.
Sakomi looked up, stunned. She was bloody and still crying, but she was stunned. “Mom?”
“Don’t worry, honey.” Mio would have smiled if she had a mouth in her Pearlshell form. “Mommy’s here.”
“You BITCH!” Taiga roared.
Mio wasn’t having it. “You miserable bastard. How dare you. How DARE you hurt my baby! How DARE you try to bring her back after all you did! I stood by and I was forced to watch as you broke her, tortured her and then tried to execute her. And then, out of jealousy and idiocy, you had me kill the only man besides her father who loved her. You TRICKED me. Well, I have news for you, your majesty. You are finished. I will kill you before I let you lay a hand on her ever again.”
“No better than her or the traitor Queen.” Taiga spat, spitting blue blood out of his mouth.
“That traitor Queen was YOUR MOTHER.” Mio spat. “Your mother who loved you and scarified everything to ensure your protection. And you let them poison your mind against her. I feel sorry for Maya. She died alone, weeping at how she had failed you.”
“She was a whore! Just like you and your miserable brat of a daughter!”
“Sakomi did NOTHING wrong to you.” Mio would not back down. “And yet, out of jealousy and spite, you had the love of her life slaughtered. And you had the nerve to wear his fur as a coat!”
Sakomi, in pain, just lay on the floor, surrounded by her own blood. She wasn’t sure what to think first. There was her mother, screaming at Taiga… actually protecting her. It was a sight Sakomi never thought she would live to see.
“He made a nice coat.” Taiga remarked.
“I SHOULD HAVE LET HIS FATHER RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!” Mio screamed. “And then, in your quest to hurt her again, you attacked two innocent girls. You better hope those girls do not have a father who loves them or your head will come clean off.”
Sakomi looked horrified. “That was Satoru? That black fur coat was my Satoru?”
“It was either a coat or a trophy.” Taiga’s utter arrogance infuriated Mio. “He looked better as a coat.”
Mio somehow, SOMEHOW, managed to knock Taiga out onto the balcony, screaming obscenities at him and trying to break his neck. The sight bowled Sakomi over. It was at that moment that a new voice entered the fray.
“Those twin girls you attacked and left to die… those girls did have a father who loves them. Those girls… were my daughters.” It was an angry voice, but it was very soft, very gentle. Mio knew that voice. She knew it very well.
When an angry Kurenai Wataru stepped into view, Mio knew it was time to split. “Wataru-san!”
“Mio-san… take Sakomi out of here. She needs to go to a hospital. Now.”
“Wataru-san… those…I…”
“Mio-san! Sakomi needs help!” Wataru was angry and Mio knew it was not worth it to mess around with him. “Take her out of here! NOW!”
Gently, Mio gathered Sakomi into her arms and took her out, trying to soothe her crying and distraught daughter. “It’s all right.” Mio murmured. “It will be okay.”
At the hospital, as Sakomi lay unconscious in a bed, having needed surgery to remove what had been the remnants of her pregnancy, bandaged and bruised, but still very much alive, Mio found herself confronted by Sakomi’s mother in law, the Wolfen Queen, Fujimori Yuri. It was the absolute last thing Mio wanted to have to deal with, having no idea what had happened to Satoru and having not slept or eaten in hours.
Yuri and Mio didn’t care for one another. Yuri’s opinion of Mio was very low, thinking that if Mio did love Sakomi, as she claimed, the kind of madness that had gone on in Sakomi’s marriage to Taiga would never have happened. Mio thought that if Yuri knew what truly happened, she would change her tune. Either way, the relationship was even colder than the one between Mio and Sakomi.
“What are you doing here?” Mio had no patience left to deal with Yuri.
“I’ve come to see my daughter in law. Wataru told me you took her to the hospital.” Yuri replied. “I should be asking what are YOU doing here?”
“Sakomi’s my daughter.” Mio replied. “Why wouldn’t I be here?” A pause. “Yuri, get on with it. I do not have the patience for you to be bitchy to me. I have not slept. I have not eaten. I just fought with a Fangire who could have killed me to protect my daughter. I do not need your judgment. I do love Sakomi, I don’t care what you think.”
“If you truly loved her, you would never have allowed her to be harmed this way!”
“LIAR!” Mio yelled, causing some people in the hallway to jump. “You know NOTHING! NOTHING!” She inhaled. “You do not understand, Yuri-san. Sakomi’s husband, Taiga, was a vicious, violent, spoiled brat of a tyrant. The man killed his own mother! He browbeat everyone in his court into total submission, including myself AND my husband. We were scared to speak against him for fear of losing our lives! You have NO idea of the guilt I carry with me every single day. There are days when I cannot look at Sakomi because all I see are the images of her being dragged, kicking and screaming to the gallows, the images of her beaten and cut…Yuri, I have seen my own child be raped by her husband and left bleeding and broken. And I live with the fact that it is because of me that she suffered such atrocities.” Mio glared at the Wolfen. “Taiga tricked me into allowing him to marry Sakomi. He tricked me into murdering the man she loved and then he turned him into a coat. I live with that guilt every single day and I will for the rest of my natural life.”
Yuri was stunned into utter silence.
“Don’t you DARE judge me on my parenting skills.” Mio continued. “Until you live with the guilt I have lived with, you are in NO position to judge.”
Yuri said absolutely nothing, instead choosing to silently enter Sakomi’s hospital bed.
Mio remained in her chair until Yuri left and then walked into the hospital room. Gently, she sat down by Sakomi’s bedside and ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair.
“I’ve failed you as a mother.” Sakomi was unconscious, but still, Mio spoke. “I should have done more to protect you. Instead, I only caused you more harm and heartbreak.” She sighed. “Everything, all of your suffering, is my own fault. I know now why you never want to look at me or speak to me. I don’t blame you. How can I?”
“You didn’t fail her.” Bishop came into the room behind her. “You protected her from him. And you saved her. You didn’t fail her. And I am sure she does not hate you.”
When Bishop came to stand behind her, Mio threw herself into his arms and sobbed about how much she had failed. She had done it because she needed his warmth and strength. “I’m not strong like you.”
“That’s not true.” He murmured. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.” When she looked up at him, sobbing, he wiped her tears away. “Your strength gave her strength. And it took courage to stand up to Taiga. So don’t ever think that you’re not strong.”
Mio buried herself in his long black coat and murmured something and despite the fact that they were standing in their daughter’s hospital room, he smiled. Even when the world seemed to be crashing around them, she was still trying to be cute. He kissed her forehead, wondering how Taiga could have been so cruel to the love of his life and the precious daughter they shared.
Just as Bishop’s grip tightened around Mio, Sakomi stirred.
“Pain meds…” She moaned.
“Sakomi!” Mio broke away from Bishop and knelt by her daughter’s side. “Are you okay?”
“I will once I get morphine.” Sakomi looked sad and broken. “I lost the babies, didn’t I?”
Mio nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, honey. But, at the least, it was either keep them or lose your fertility or vice versa. I didn’t enjoy having to make that choice for you.”
Sakomi sniffled and tried to curl up into a ball, but the machines and bandages wouldn’t let her. Mio ran her hands through her daughter’s hair. “But don’t worry, Sakomi. He’ll never hurt you again.”
“I don’t believe that.” Sakomi muttered.
“Believe it.” Mio replied. “I won’t let him hurt you. Not ever again.”
“Mom… you try too hard.” Sakomi murmured.
“I am just trying to make up for all that I have done to hurt you.” Mio replied. “Darling, if you only knew the guilt I live with… how much I wish I could take it all back.”
“Mom… I don’t blame you.” Sakomi murmured softly. “I don’t hate you. I just wonder sometimes, why you won’t look at me.”
“Dearest, I am the cause of most of your pain.” Mio murmured. “I was the one who stole Satoru’s life from you, it was me who allowed Taiga to marry you… I stood by and did nothing… I am a terrible mother to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault. Taiga tricked you.” Sakomi murmured. “I always knew in my heart that if you had known what he was up to, you would have said no. And we know what happens when you say no to Taiga.”
“Spoiled little brat…” Mio muttered, suddenly surprised when Sakomi reached up and hugged her mother, despite her pain and the irritating beeping of a machine. It was the first time Sakomi had ever hugged her mother.
“I love you, Mom.”
And just like that, years of guilt just washed away.
Author: Trinity
Fandom: Kamen Rider Kiva
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Domestic violence mentions
Summary: In an offshoot fic from Can’t Run, Can’t Hide, Mio grapples with her guilt over the acts she should have prevented and her fractured relationship with her only daughter, Sakomi.
Suzuki Mio was sitting alone at an outdoor café, sipping tea when she saw a long black coat and white scarf move into her line of vision. Slowly, she looked up and saw her lover, the Checkmate Four’s Bishop, whom she called by his true name, Satoshi, standing before her. At her unsure gaze, he bowed.
“Queen.” He said.
“Hello, Satoshi.” She murmured softly. “This is a surprise.”
“Are you all right, Queen?” Bishop asked. “You look sad.”
“I went to Sakomi’s apartment today.” Suzuki Sakomi was Bishop and Mio’s only daughter and a Fangire Queen in her own right. “Satoru-san, her husband, said she would not see me. It brought back all the guilt I have carried for so long.”
“Would you like to talk about it?” He asked. He knew the reasons behind it already, but he knew that Mio had to get it off her chest. He sat down and looked at the mother of his child and the love of his life with concerned eyes.
The small family had all arrived from the same alternate universe, where Sakomi had been a Queen on the verge of execution because of her husband, Taiga, and his desire to be rid of her. Their family history was complicated at best, and Mio had carried a massive amount of guilt relating to how Sakomi had nearly ended up dead.
“I am a terrible mother, Satoshi.” Mio murmured. “I stood by and I watched as Taiga beat her within an inch of her life. I stood by and watched as he ordered her execution. I stood by and did nothing. She’s our daughter. I should have protected her.”
“You know full well how Taiga was, Mio.” Bishop chastised her. “If you had said anything against her, he’d have killed you himself.”
“He didn’t kill you.”
“He couldn’t afford to be rid of me, but that didn’t mean that I could say what I pleased. Every time I tried to get him to stop harming Sakomi, he called me soft. I told her that was my daughter and he said he didn’t care. She belonged to him. It was infuriating to see our daughter reduced to nothing more than property.”
“She hates me, Satoshi.” Mio sounded distraught. “Our child hates me for what I did not do.”
“I don’t think it’s that simple.” Bishop sipped from a glass before him.
“Satoshi, it was my fault her lover was killed. It was my fault she was nearly executed. I could have saved her from destruction. And what did I do? I did nothing.”
“She doesn’t hate you for that. She understands that Taiga beat you the way he beat her. He also had you terrified for your life. “
“But Satoru’s death…”
“Unforgivable!” Bishop actually got angry at this. “He tricked you! I had no idea what he was up to until it was far too late. He made you think you were punishing a traitor Fangire, but in truth, it was Satoru. He knew you didn’t have any idea what Satoru looked like. And he used that to his advantage.”
“But Satoru still died.” Mio was very quiet. “And it was still my fault.”
“Mio, enough.” Bishop was very firm. “Sakomi doesn’t hate you. I know she doesn’t.”
“Then why won’t she see me?”
“Because she got some news that bothers her.” Bishop replied. “She has learned that somehow Taiga has gotten into this world and he’s looking for her. So, she is hiding.”
At this news, Mio grew almost white. “He’s what?”
“He’s looking for her.”
They were words Mio dreaded. The very idea of Sakomi being dragged back to the hellhole that had been her previous life made her angry and she gritted her teeth. “He’s not going get her back. I will die before I let her go back.”
“This is your chance, my love.” Bishop took her hands in his and smiled. “This your chance to be the mother she needs. To protect her, to make sure she is safe.”
“I don’t know if she will let me.” Mio looked into her cup of tea.
“You are her mother.” Bishop told her. “That’s what mothers do. They protect their young. It’s your chance to protect Sakomi in the way she needs you.”
Mio and Sakomi’s relationship had always been more fractured than Mio was willing to admit. They had never truly gotten along, as Mio had been young and scared when she became pregnant and left Sakomi with Bishop. Mio did come back to her husband and daughter, but the damage had been done and things between Sakomi and Mio had always been cold.
Even Sakomi’s rescue and marriage had done little to defrost things. Mio still carried so much guilt that sometimes, she could not look at her daughter and not see the scars that Taiga once left. And this was in spite of the fact that Sakomi’s body and face were free of scars and sadness.
“Mio…” Bishop began, but Mio stood up.
“Satoshi.” She was showing more confidence than she had in a long time. “I’m going to go. I have to protect Sakomi.” Mio happened to have her apartment in the same building as Sakomi. “I will wait. And Taiga will pay.”
Finally Mio had had enough. “Mark my words, Satoshi. He will NEVER hurt my baby again.”
When Mio sensed Taiga’s presence, it was very late. She had barely slept, she was running on coffee and cold, angry fury. Her mind was consumed with memories of the torture she had been forced to silently watch, of watching Sakomi be nearly dragged to her own execution and bee locked up in the Tower of Kyoto and her anger only grew. And when she heard Sakomi’s terrified scream, the Fangire Queen felt something in her snap.
Taking on her indigo Pearlshell form, Mio managed to get into Sakomi’s apartment just in time to hear Taiga berating Sakomi, who lay on the floor, bruised and bleeding, moaning in pain.
Mio’s rage only grew and just as Taiga was coaxing Sakomi to come “home”, asking her where he was going to find a wife as compliant as her, she remained silent no longer.
“Maybe….” She summoned her pearls to shower Taiga like hail. “…you’ll find one in hell.” She pummeled Taiga with the full force of her rage, sending him into a wall.
Sakomi looked up, stunned. She was bloody and still crying, but she was stunned. “Mom?”
“Don’t worry, honey.” Mio would have smiled if she had a mouth in her Pearlshell form. “Mommy’s here.”
“You BITCH!” Taiga roared.
Mio wasn’t having it. “You miserable bastard. How dare you. How DARE you hurt my baby! How DARE you try to bring her back after all you did! I stood by and I was forced to watch as you broke her, tortured her and then tried to execute her. And then, out of jealousy and idiocy, you had me kill the only man besides her father who loved her. You TRICKED me. Well, I have news for you, your majesty. You are finished. I will kill you before I let you lay a hand on her ever again.”
“No better than her or the traitor Queen.” Taiga spat, spitting blue blood out of his mouth.
“That traitor Queen was YOUR MOTHER.” Mio spat. “Your mother who loved you and scarified everything to ensure your protection. And you let them poison your mind against her. I feel sorry for Maya. She died alone, weeping at how she had failed you.”
“She was a whore! Just like you and your miserable brat of a daughter!”
“Sakomi did NOTHING wrong to you.” Mio would not back down. “And yet, out of jealousy and spite, you had the love of her life slaughtered. And you had the nerve to wear his fur as a coat!”
Sakomi, in pain, just lay on the floor, surrounded by her own blood. She wasn’t sure what to think first. There was her mother, screaming at Taiga… actually protecting her. It was a sight Sakomi never thought she would live to see.
“He made a nice coat.” Taiga remarked.
“I SHOULD HAVE LET HIS FATHER RIP YOUR HEAD OFF!” Mio screamed. “And then, in your quest to hurt her again, you attacked two innocent girls. You better hope those girls do not have a father who loves them or your head will come clean off.”
Sakomi looked horrified. “That was Satoru? That black fur coat was my Satoru?”
“It was either a coat or a trophy.” Taiga’s utter arrogance infuriated Mio. “He looked better as a coat.”
Mio somehow, SOMEHOW, managed to knock Taiga out onto the balcony, screaming obscenities at him and trying to break his neck. The sight bowled Sakomi over. It was at that moment that a new voice entered the fray.
“Those twin girls you attacked and left to die… those girls did have a father who loves them. Those girls… were my daughters.” It was an angry voice, but it was very soft, very gentle. Mio knew that voice. She knew it very well.
When an angry Kurenai Wataru stepped into view, Mio knew it was time to split. “Wataru-san!”
“Mio-san… take Sakomi out of here. She needs to go to a hospital. Now.”
“Wataru-san… those…I…”
“Mio-san! Sakomi needs help!” Wataru was angry and Mio knew it was not worth it to mess around with him. “Take her out of here! NOW!”
Gently, Mio gathered Sakomi into her arms and took her out, trying to soothe her crying and distraught daughter. “It’s all right.” Mio murmured. “It will be okay.”
At the hospital, as Sakomi lay unconscious in a bed, having needed surgery to remove what had been the remnants of her pregnancy, bandaged and bruised, but still very much alive, Mio found herself confronted by Sakomi’s mother in law, the Wolfen Queen, Fujimori Yuri. It was the absolute last thing Mio wanted to have to deal with, having no idea what had happened to Satoru and having not slept or eaten in hours.
Yuri and Mio didn’t care for one another. Yuri’s opinion of Mio was very low, thinking that if Mio did love Sakomi, as she claimed, the kind of madness that had gone on in Sakomi’s marriage to Taiga would never have happened. Mio thought that if Yuri knew what truly happened, she would change her tune. Either way, the relationship was even colder than the one between Mio and Sakomi.
“What are you doing here?” Mio had no patience left to deal with Yuri.
“I’ve come to see my daughter in law. Wataru told me you took her to the hospital.” Yuri replied. “I should be asking what are YOU doing here?”
“Sakomi’s my daughter.” Mio replied. “Why wouldn’t I be here?” A pause. “Yuri, get on with it. I do not have the patience for you to be bitchy to me. I have not slept. I have not eaten. I just fought with a Fangire who could have killed me to protect my daughter. I do not need your judgment. I do love Sakomi, I don’t care what you think.”
“If you truly loved her, you would never have allowed her to be harmed this way!”
“LIAR!” Mio yelled, causing some people in the hallway to jump. “You know NOTHING! NOTHING!” She inhaled. “You do not understand, Yuri-san. Sakomi’s husband, Taiga, was a vicious, violent, spoiled brat of a tyrant. The man killed his own mother! He browbeat everyone in his court into total submission, including myself AND my husband. We were scared to speak against him for fear of losing our lives! You have NO idea of the guilt I carry with me every single day. There are days when I cannot look at Sakomi because all I see are the images of her being dragged, kicking and screaming to the gallows, the images of her beaten and cut…Yuri, I have seen my own child be raped by her husband and left bleeding and broken. And I live with the fact that it is because of me that she suffered such atrocities.” Mio glared at the Wolfen. “Taiga tricked me into allowing him to marry Sakomi. He tricked me into murdering the man she loved and then he turned him into a coat. I live with that guilt every single day and I will for the rest of my natural life.”
Yuri was stunned into utter silence.
“Don’t you DARE judge me on my parenting skills.” Mio continued. “Until you live with the guilt I have lived with, you are in NO position to judge.”
Yuri said absolutely nothing, instead choosing to silently enter Sakomi’s hospital bed.
Mio remained in her chair until Yuri left and then walked into the hospital room. Gently, she sat down by Sakomi’s bedside and ran her fingers through her daughter’s hair.
“I’ve failed you as a mother.” Sakomi was unconscious, but still, Mio spoke. “I should have done more to protect you. Instead, I only caused you more harm and heartbreak.” She sighed. “Everything, all of your suffering, is my own fault. I know now why you never want to look at me or speak to me. I don’t blame you. How can I?”
“You didn’t fail her.” Bishop came into the room behind her. “You protected her from him. And you saved her. You didn’t fail her. And I am sure she does not hate you.”
When Bishop came to stand behind her, Mio threw herself into his arms and sobbed about how much she had failed. She had done it because she needed his warmth and strength. “I’m not strong like you.”
“That’s not true.” He murmured. “You are stronger than you give yourself credit for.” When she looked up at him, sobbing, he wiped her tears away. “Your strength gave her strength. And it took courage to stand up to Taiga. So don’t ever think that you’re not strong.”
Mio buried herself in his long black coat and murmured something and despite the fact that they were standing in their daughter’s hospital room, he smiled. Even when the world seemed to be crashing around them, she was still trying to be cute. He kissed her forehead, wondering how Taiga could have been so cruel to the love of his life and the precious daughter they shared.
Just as Bishop’s grip tightened around Mio, Sakomi stirred.
“Pain meds…” She moaned.
“Sakomi!” Mio broke away from Bishop and knelt by her daughter’s side. “Are you okay?”
“I will once I get morphine.” Sakomi looked sad and broken. “I lost the babies, didn’t I?”
Mio nodded sadly. “I’m sorry, honey. But, at the least, it was either keep them or lose your fertility or vice versa. I didn’t enjoy having to make that choice for you.”
Sakomi sniffled and tried to curl up into a ball, but the machines and bandages wouldn’t let her. Mio ran her hands through her daughter’s hair. “But don’t worry, Sakomi. He’ll never hurt you again.”
“I don’t believe that.” Sakomi muttered.
“Believe it.” Mio replied. “I won’t let him hurt you. Not ever again.”
“Mom… you try too hard.” Sakomi murmured.
“I am just trying to make up for all that I have done to hurt you.” Mio replied. “Darling, if you only knew the guilt I live with… how much I wish I could take it all back.”
“Mom… I don’t blame you.” Sakomi murmured softly. “I don’t hate you. I just wonder sometimes, why you won’t look at me.”
“Dearest, I am the cause of most of your pain.” Mio murmured. “I was the one who stole Satoru’s life from you, it was me who allowed Taiga to marry you… I stood by and did nothing… I am a terrible mother to you.”
“It wasn’t your fault. Taiga tricked you.” Sakomi murmured. “I always knew in my heart that if you had known what he was up to, you would have said no. And we know what happens when you say no to Taiga.”
“Spoiled little brat…” Mio muttered, suddenly surprised when Sakomi reached up and hugged her mother, despite her pain and the irritating beeping of a machine. It was the first time Sakomi had ever hugged her mother.
“I love you, Mom.”
And just like that, years of guilt just washed away.