21
When Shion arrived fifteen minutes later, she found her mother standing outside Oryou's bedroom door with her face buried in her hands. "Mom?"
Her mother looked up at the sound of her daughter's voice. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. "Shion," she said softly. She gave Shion a tight hug and said, "Thank goodness you're here. Your grandmother doesn't have very long."
"I know," nodded Shion. "Mion told me. That's why I came." Then, "So, were you just in there?"
"Yes," nodded Akane. "I was burying the hatchet between us. There was a time when we eventually started talking again...but it wasn't officially resolved. Just now...I took the time to tell her how sorry I was that I hurt her by marrying a man against her wishes. I told her I didn't want her to go to the grave without ever resolving the resentment we held towards each other over the years. Anyway...Mion's in there now, with Tenchi."
There was a soft rumble of thunder from just outside. The storm had yet to end, but was just about over. "May I go in?" asked Shion.
"Of course," said Akane. "How about we go in together? Then she can have her family by her side when..."
She didn't finish, but Shion knew what she meant. Akane gently opened the door and the two women walked in. Oryou lay in bed with a sleeping Tenchi in her arms. Mion stood just above her, looking as though she were willing herself not to cry.
"I'm sorry you didn't get to hold him an awful lot," said Mion, her voice breaking up. "I...I should've let you hold him more often, but..."
"But nothing," said Oryou firmly. "The baby needed his rest." Then, "You can take him back now."
"Are...are you sure?" said Mion. Now she couldn't hold back the tears.
"He needs his rest," said Oryou calmly. "A little bit of time with him is better than no time at all."
It was all Mion could do to stifle a sob as Oryou handed her son back to her. "Don't cry," said Oryou. "You will upset the baby."
Shion could hardly believe this sight. Here was Oryou on her deathbed, and she still managed to look on the bright side and think of the baby. What would she think if she were to tell her?
Oryou looked up and saw Shion and Akane standing there. Shion nervously took a few steps forward. "Hi," she said. "Um...Mion called a couple minutes ago. She said you were dying?"
"That I am," said Oryou coolly. "Sit."
Shion sat down in the chair next to the bed. She fidgeted with her hands, not knowing what to say. "Well, um," she began, "I...I'd just like to say..."
"Say what?" snapped Oryou. "Speak up, child!"
"I..." Shion gulped and said, "I don't want there to be this animosity between us anymore. I don't want you to die hating me, grandma. I know I was never your favourite...and probably never will be...but I want us to clear the air before...before it's too late."
"Ah," said Oryou. "So you want to "clear the air", hmm? What do you mean by that, exactly? What is it you want to 'clear up'?"
Shion rubbed one ankle against the other. "Everything."
"But there must be something specific," said Oryou, her eyes narrowing. "What is it?"
Shion felt as though Oryou could see right through her stomach and see the baby. She said, "Well, uh...I'm sorry for disrespecting you in the past...and for running away from school..."
"You apologized for that when you did your distinction," said Oryou calmly. "There's something else, isn't there?"
"I guess," said Shion slowly. She cleared her throat. "Well...I understand you've only had our family name in mind, and that you did what you did for the sake of our family. So that if anything was to happen to the village, people could trust us and take us seriously. And they did...during the dam conflict."
"It's about that Houjou boy, isn't it?" sighed Oryou.
Shion froze, then sighed and relaxed. "Yes, it is," she admitted. "I want your blessing. I don't want to go around thinking that being with Satoshi isn't okay because you're dead and can't do anything about it. I was telling the truth that day I did my distinction when I said I loved him. We're still in love today. In fact..."
Shion lightly placed one hand on her stomach and said, "Satoshi and I are going to have a baby."
Her mother and sister gasped slightly, but Oryou had no reaction. Shion took this as a sign to go on: "We're going to start a family together, grandma. And I can't feel easy about that until I get your blessing, so please, please understand that all I want is for you to see where I'm coming from, to say that it's okay so I don't feel that somehow, I'm disrespecting the dead."
Shion held her breath, waiting for Oryou's reply. How would she react now that she knew Shion was carrying Satoshi's child? That a Sonozaki was carrying the child of a Houjou? Was she angry? Would she be too weak to react?
Oryou finally spoke: "So...another great-grandchild I won't live to see."
"Mother," Akane began, but Oryou held up a hand and spoke: "There is no use in having any sort of feeling—good or bad—to something I will never get to see. So I might as well not feel anything. However," she looked into Shion's trembling emerald eyes, "I will say this much...I don't think Mion or I ever got around to telling you this, but...as a result of your 'distinction', I decided to forgive...and forget...everything. I told the other village leaders that because you were willing to do the distinction...because you tore out your fingernails...I was willing to bless the relationship and let you be happy. I told them we should let go of a long-held grudge against the Houjou's."
She sighed and shook her head sadly. "But it did not take with everyone. So...so I put up a piece of land for sale, in hopes that if there were more outsiders...then your relationship with Satoshi...were he to return...would be accepted by the village."
"Grandma," whispered Shion, tears coming to her eyes. She remembered Mion's words in that world...she had been telling the truth after all. But she had never anticipated this. "I'm sorry!"
"Don't be," said Oryou firmly, taking her hand in Shion's. "I'm giving you the blessing to be with Houjou Satoshi, so take it. Don't hold yourself back because of anything that may have happened in the past. It's over, it's done with, now go and be happy."
These were her last words. The three women stayed by Oryou's side in silence until, finally, the hand Shion held went limp and the atmosphere grew solemn. Mion finally said, "Well, I...I guess I'd better go make the funeral arrangements...now that I'm head of the family."
Trying to keep herself calm and composed, she handed Tenchi over to Akane and said, "Here, mom. Put Tenchi back in his crib. He's sleeping peacefully now, so..."
"Mion," said Akane gently. "Don't feel pressured to get to it right away. If you need to give yourself some time..."
"I've got to do it, mom," said Mion, her voice cracking.
Shion let go of Oryou's hand and stood up, glancing down at this now dead woman before following Mion out of the room. Oryou was now dead...but had finally given Shion the blessing she had been waiting seven years for.
After making the arrangements, Mion and Shion sat outdoors in the grass, thinking about everything that had happened this day.
"So the funeral is on Friday," said Mion, now a bit more composed. "You can come...if you want. Now that everything's okay and you're going to have a baby..." She gasped when Shion's words sank in. "You're going to have a baby!"
Mion leaned over and gave Shion a tight hug. Shion had figured Mion at least would be accepting of the news. She wasn't sure how her mother felt...she was relieved to know Oryou had chosen not to feel angry over it...or happy, either...
Mion separated and lightly touched Shion's stomach. "You're really having a baby," she whispered.
"Uh, yeah!" said Shion, laughing nervously, then feeling guilty over laughing after someone close to her had just died.
Mion didn't seem to mind: "When you did you find out?"
"An hour before you called me over," replied Shion. "Satoshi-kun accepts it. He says that when he can propose to me properly, he'll marry me."
Mion's eyes shined over with tears. "So much has happened in one night," she said softly. "You're having a baby, and you might be marrying Satoshi...and grandma's gone..."
Mion broke down sobbing. Shion held her close and thought, Yes...a lot has happened in one night. A lot that might determine if Satoshi and I will ever end up together.