A/N: This chapter won't have any Satoshion action, sorry to disappoint you on that. I want some chapters to be character-driven (chapters that focus on developing the characters), whilst I want others to be plot-driven (chapters that develop the plot), and some to be a bit of both. This one will be character-driven, exploring the bonds between the Sonozaki women, because a bit of feminine bonding is required to make certain scenes in the last few chapters more believable.

11

It was on a nice, sunny day in mid-July that Mion had planned on having a girl's day out with her sister and her mother, which Shion especially looked forward to. She and her mother hadn't had a chance to really speak to one another in so long, and Shion was feeling a bit anxious about the opportunity to get to hang out with her. Perhaps she would feel more relaxed if Mion went along.

However, on the day they were supposed to meet up at Oryou's house and go from there, Mion had some news for them: "Grandma woke up this morning feeling awful. I'm going to stay here with Keiichi and look after her."

"You don't have to, Mion," called out Keiichi from indoors. "I'll stay here and look after her. You go on ahead."

"No, Keiichi-kun, I should stay and help," Mion called back. "I don't think she likes you too much."

"Ah, she'll warm up to me soon enough," said Keiichi.

Mion turned to Shion and Akane. "I think I'd better stay behind," she said. "Just in case grandma has enough strength to give Keiichi a piece of her mind."

Shion felt awkward to be hanging out with her mother like they were old friends, like they hadn't been going about their own business until now. She was at a bit of a loss of what to say when the two of them went for a walk through the forest together, the cicadas crying in the background.

Shion finally managed to say, "Will Mion and Keiichi be okay by themselves...with grandma?"

"Oh, don't worry about a thing," said Akane with a wave of her hand. "Your grandmother's really a big teddy bear. She's just a teddy bear with sharp teeth, that's all."

Shion lightly chuckled at this comment. Akane said, "She cares for the family, you know. And for the entire village. There's a reason she does things the way she does."

"So there was a reason for you being disinherited?" Shion asked without thinking.

A look of surprise made its way across Akane's face before she calmly said, "Yes. I married an outsider."

"Mion married an outsider, yet her marriage with Keiichi received grandma's blessing," pointed out Shion.

"True, but Keiichi has lived in the village for years," said Akane. "Your father only set foot in here a few times. And besides," she smiled, "I'm afraid you inherited my tact in expressing my love for another person."

"Oh," said Shion. "Did you ever have to...distinguish yourself, too?"

Akane shook her head. "No," she said. "We weren't in the torture chamber at the time, thank goodness."

"What was your relationship with dad like?" asked Shion, now curious to find out if what her mother had with her father was anything like what Shion had with Satoshi, as Kasai had claimed.

The two women stopped on an area of the trail where the cicadas were a bit quieter. "You could say it was love at first sight," said Akane. "From the moment I first saw him, I knew he was the one. I saw him whenever possible, not caring about his Yakuza connections, or that he was an outsider. No, all that mattered to me was our love. I would've done anything, even commit murder, just to be with him."

She looked at Shion curiously. "I have heard you're becoming very friendly with that Houjou boy," she said. "Some people are even saying it's just like me and your father."

"Oh," said Shion, feeling her face growing warm. "Well, uh...it's kind of like that."

"Is he that boy you had to distinguish yourself for?" asked Akane.

Shion looked down and muttered, "Yes."

"Ah, now, don't be ashamed," said Akane, lifting her daughter's chin up. "It's wonderful to be young and in love."

So why didn't you say anything that day? thought Shion. Why did you just sit there and watch me suffer?

"It's been years since the dam conflict," continued Akane. "I don't think anyone would mind too much if you and the Houjou boy were to—"

"Satoshi," interrupted Shion. "His name's Satoshi."

"Right, Satoshi," nodded Akane. "Well if the two of you should ever elope, then you may very well be repeating history, now won't you?"

She laughed and said, "You know, Mion's not the only one in our family to become pregnant from the honeymoon. It wasn't until six weeks after your father and I had eloped that we discovered we were expecting you and your sister. I knew then I had to return and try to reconcile with your grandmother, to tell her she would be having a new Sonozaki heir."

"And?" inquired Shion. "Was she pleased?"

"Yes and no," said Akane slowly. "She would've preferred the father be anyone but my husband, but she was willing to have me stay long enough to have the baby, and take it under my wing to raise for the first couple years or so of its life before having it go live with her."

She sighed and shook her head sadly, now becoming more serious. "You may already know you were supposed to have been strangled before your first bath. Well...I was hoping for the day to come when I could explain while you are here...and now, I think, it is appropriate for me to tell you what happened shortly after you were born..."

Akane's heart had sunk when she felt the urge to bear down a second time—not because of the pain she would have to endure once more, but because of what was to come for the poor infant to be born. And now, the second child she had bonded with long before realizing she had been carrying two of them, was about to have the first few minutes of her life cut short.

The umbilical cord had been cut. The screaming baby was placed down on the cloth next to the calm, sleeping baby wrapped up in a warm blanket. Akane, despite feeling as though she had just come out of a sumo match, struggled to sit up on the mat. She saw her mother order the attendants out of the room. She saw her march up to the protesting Saburou—"You can't do this! They're my children!"—and have him forcibly removed from the room before having the doors slid closed.

Akane felt her heart beat at a much faster pace, nearly drowning out the cries of the yet-to-be-washed baby. She spoke, "Mother..."

"Look away, Akane," said Oryou calmly yet firmly as she walked up to the babies. "It will be less painful if you're not watching."

"Mother, please..."

"You know the tradition: The youngest twin must be strangled before their first bath. Having twin heirs is a bad omen. Now look away."

"Mother, please don't do this."

Oryou was now standing above the younger child, her hands outstretched. She turned to Akane and said, "Akane, turn away and close your eyes."

"No," said Akane, her voice quivering. "No mother, I will not turn a blind eye to this sin. I will lie here and watch as you murder one of my babies. I will not say a word. I will not protest. But once you are done, I will take the surviving twin, run far away with Saburou to America, and never speak to you ever again. And should the child ever ask of her grandmother when she is older, I will tell her you are dead. You will have no one to pass the Sonozaki name down to. The legacy will end right here."

Oryou's eyes widened with shock. Aside from Akane's outbursts when she declared her unwavering love for Saburou, she had never seen her so angry. And she made it clear from her determined expression she was not going to look away. Oryou's hands wavered, inches away from the baby's delicate neck. Finally, they fell at her sides. Oryou sighed, "You are a piece of work, you know that? You're worse than your own father."

Oryou took a spare blanket and wrapped the twin up in it. She placed the now calm baby in Akane's arms. Akane's eyes filled up with tears. She held the baby close and whispered, "Thank you."

"Think nothing on it," said Oryou firmly. "This will be the sole exception, on the condition that the elder twin be raised to be the heir, while the youngest one will be kept hidden away."

Oryou held the other baby in her arms. "You, little one, will be Mion," she declared. "You will be the inheritor of "the demon."" She looked over to the twin being held by Akane. "And you will be Shion, destined to be a monk in "the temple.""

Shion was stunned by her mother's story. She had only been told about the twin tradition shortly before being sent off to boarding school. No one had ever told her that her mother had saved her life. "Mom," she said quietly, "I...I can't believe you stood up to her like that."

"I felt I had to," said Akane, tracing the bark with her fingers. "I had enough of the Sonozaki traditions. They nearly stifled my happiness. I was not going to let them outright destroy it." She turned to Shion and said, "I may not have shown it too well over the years, but I cared for both you and your sister, and loved you both equally."

"Mom," whispered Shion before giving her mother a tearful hug. "Thank you."

She felt her mother give her a tight squeeze. How long had it been since they last had a moment as beautiful as this?

A short while later, Shion and Akane stopped by the Sonozaki household just to check on Mion. When they came, they were surprised to see Oryou sitting up in the living room drinking green tea Keiichi and Mion had prepared together.

"This should make you feel better," said Keiichi proudly, as though his tea-making abilities had made him the wealthiest man in the world.

Oryou calmly took a sip. "This is delicious," she said. "Thank you."

"I'm glad you like it, grandma," said Mion gently. She was sitting in a nearby chair, as her belly made sitting down on the floor a bit uncomfortable. She looked up and said, "Oh, hi mom! Hi onee! How'd the walk go? Sorry I couldn't come."

Akane and Shion shared a smile. "It went just fine," said Akane.

Shion looked into her grandmother's face. This woman would've had her killed had it not been for her mother's bold words...and yet, Shion could still feel a smidgen of pity for her. This woman had once been one of the most powerful figures in all of Hinamizawa, and here she was now, withering away to nothing, worrying she may never see her first great-grandchild. It was like seeing a once mighty, powerful lion now lying weakened in the grass, waiting for the sun to kill it already.

Shion said, "So, how was your afternoon?"

"Oh, it was okay," said Mion. "Grandma's feeling a little bit better now. She was miserable a few hours ago, but—"

"I'm fine," said Oryou irritably. "She's just exaggerating."

"Now, now," said Mion gently, "don't get yourself all worked up—oh!" she gasped. "I think the baby's kicking!"

Keiichi, Akane, and Shion all ran over to Mion, who rubbed her hand on the region and said, "Right there!"

Everyone was moving their hands to the alleged region all at once, but Shion managed to feel a kick—it felt like a quick pulse. "Oh, I feel it!" she said excitedly.

"There you go!" said Keiichi proudly. "Don't let your mother tell you what to do little one, or else you'll be facing a lifetime of punishment games!"

"Now why would I want to inflict that on my child when I could just settle for you?" said Mion playfully, trying not to let her sentimental feelings show.

Shion laughed. She turned around to see her grandmother looking away, swearing she could hear a melancholic sigh. Something came over her and possessed her to walk up to her grandmother and say, "Grandma? Are you okay?"

There was a pause before Oryou said, "I'm fine, Shion."

"Oh," said Shion. "Well, are you sure? You don't need anything?"

"No," said Oryou, shaking her head. "Just go."

Shion looked over to her mother, who indicated it was time to leave. The two women went off, Shion feeling she had gained better understanding about her family.