Makoto is hopeful.

"Representing the Star, Gabriel is another Archangel present in several Abrahamic religions. Cited in the Bible, Quran, and other sacred texts, he is said to be the direct Messenger of God. He has visited the prophet Daniel in the Old Testament and Zacharias (father of John the Baptist) in the New Testament. Gabriel is also the angel responsible for foretelling the birth of Jesus, the Son of God, and delivering the message to Mary herself. He is the patron saint of messengers and postal/telecommunication workers."

[6 Years and 5 months ago]

"Makoto!" Eiko whined loudly.

This was the fifteenth time she pestered her just today. Sis' pregnancy was nowhere near as annoying and ridiculous as Eiko's.

And she was just 6 months along. She had to suffer another 3 of these.

"What do you want now, dumbass?" Makoto asked in severe annoyance, already expecting Eiko to complain about something random again.

Her old self would be scandalized at the kind of posturing and crude language she adopted these days thanks to Eiko's influence, to the point that even Ryuji would blush. She guessed, months of partying and being drunk out of your ass would ruin any inhibitions a sane person could have.

Makoto changed. And she kept changing and changing, sometimes for the better. Sometimes, for the worse.

After Eiko revealed her condition, Makoto was shocked back into action, with an unhelpful Akechi snarking the entire time. She decided to aid her friend in her pregnancy. Iida bailed like a coward, which made Makoto furious and Eiko devastated, but her friend pretended she was fine.

It didn't help that her Buchi-pal was practically disowned and abandoned by her family as well. They were rich and loaded, yes, but they were too ashamed and disgusted with her friend for getting with child unmarried. It was nothing new since she had already taken Eiko in several months ago, but their latest rejection merely solidified that Makoto was Eiko's only family now.

Sae was furious when the full accounts of Makoto's drunken escapades reached her ears thanks to Eiko and Akechi ratting her out. In the end, though, Sae and Takkun lovingly embraced her. And they promised to help her get through it. She relapsed into her drinking habits a couple of times, but Akechi was there to help set the record straight. She hated that she owed him, but such was life.

She decided to keep to herself and not bother any other of her fellow Thieves until she was sober enough to be around them. Futaba sometimes still came by, something which she greatly appreciated, but she avoided talking about what she had almost done to her own life.

Makoto was going to weekly meetings. And some counseling, at Takuto's recommendation. Her sister got her a puppy to be trained as a service dog tailored to her needs. It was a cute, loyal German Shepherd named Agnes. She loved her puppy already, the smart little thing.

Her fear of the dark returned and increased tenfold. Maybe she had never gotten over it in the first place. Agnes would help her whenever the panic set in by grounding her.

She had days where she hated the world. She had days where she loved her life. And she also had peaceful, normal days, contrasted to ones where she felt cranky and irritable. Like today.

…Makoto wanted a drink, though. She wanted a drink. She wanted a drink so bad…

But she promised her sis to never touch a bottle again, which she already failed.

Still, she would keep trying. For Sae, Yunchan, Eiko, and the baby's sake.

She hoped the baby would like her. She hoped to become a decent human being by the time they arrived.

She had to get a better-paying job. Sae tried to convince her to work on something related to her college degree. The only stupid thing she could do with those qualifications was to be either a politician or even a therapist. None of which she was seriously fit to be. Especially not a fucking therapist.

Makoto worked a double shift at a local library. The pay was bad, but her consolation was that there were no bottles there. Only old tomes to get lost in.

"Makoto!"

Her head hurt a lot, and Eiko's incessant whining and winging only served to get her irritated and moody. Couple that with the fact that she was trying so very damn hard to stay sober, and you had the perfect recipe for disaster.

"Your kid wants their daddy to rub mommy's feet!" Her friend complained.

"Eiko for the love of God. I'm not the 'daddy' of your child." The brunette said as she rolled her eyes.

Eiko fake gasped as she patted her growing belly. "Do you hear that, baby-tan!? Daddy is so mean to your mommy!"

Makoto was ready to rip her hair out. "This is way too weird. Can you just…not?"

Her best friend just rolled her eyes. "Girl, wake up! The times have changed. You don't have to be so gender-conforming!"

"Eiko. I'm straight, and I don't bend. And don't you dare use the spaghetti analogy on me again!" Makoto said sternly.

Eiko started clapping to get Makoto's attention. "Bitch, nobody is talking about sexuality here. I love the D with capital letters, and so do you. I was just thinking of creating a stable environment for my baby with two parent figures, and like it or not, you are way more diligent than me. I can't do this alone. Please?"

Those big, cute, pleading hazel eyes always won out in the end.

"Fine." Makoto relented.

"Yay! Alright! Now you're officially Mako Tou-chan!"

…Makoto absolutely hated this girl and her horrible puns.

Eventually, she succumbed to her friend's demands and started to massage her feet. Eiko was in bliss, and her friend's sunshine smile put Makoto a little more at ease. She hoped the baby inherited his or her mother's chirpiness.

"You know…" Eiko started amidst the foot massage Makoto was skillfully giving her.

"Hm?"

Her friend just smirked.

"You said you don't bend… But I bet you'd bend your pretty ass over for your friend Ren." She said, waggling her eyebrows.

Makoto was scandalized by her insinuations. "He is a married man now!"

"So what? If his wife can't keep him on a leash, you might as well give the doggy a treat."

Makoto couldn't believe her ears. "Eiko, I'm not a homewrecker."

"Oh, but you totally want to be a Ren-wrecker." Her friend winked stupidly.

She couldn't wait for the baby to come out so she could safely strangle Eiko.

'I hate that you're right.'

"Shut up, whore." Makoto mumbled, annoyed.

Eiko mock glared at her. "Hey, hey! No slutshaming in my house!"

"...This is my apartment," Makoto told her helplessly.

"You're gonna have to pay child support if you kick me out, Tou-chan!"

Against her will, Makoto burst out laughing at the ridiculous nickname.

"Why are we even friends in the first place?" Makoto questioned, half sincerely, half mockingly.

"Just so I can teach you to live a little," Eiko told her happily.

Makoto beamed at her.

She couldn't wait for their baby to come out. She promised she would be the best "daddy" possible to them.

Everything was going to be okay.

[The Present Day]

Ren stared at the look of absolute devastation on Makoto's face.

Akio… Akio was not her biological son?

"Makoto…" He whispered, unsure of what to say.

"He is Eiko's son with Iida." She said in a whisper. "So you see, I never lied about you not being the father. It would just be impossible. I'm sorry."

He stood there, frozen, barely processing her words.

Akio was adopted.

Suddenly, everything made too much sense. Why the little boy looked only slightly similar to Ren thanks to coincidences, but absolutely nothing like Makoto. Both Iida and Eiko had dark hair, much like himself. Even the boy's eyes were reminiscent of his biological mother.

Akio was sweet, sensitive, and quiet, compared to Yukino's bossy, curious, and opinionated attitude which were the usual Niijima traits. Yunchan was the spitting image of Makoto. And she looked more like her aunt's daughter than Akio ever did.

But still…

"Does he… Does he know?" He asked gently, while still reeling.

Makoto nodded, wiping out a few stray tears from her eyes. Beside her, Agnes whined, probably sensing her distress.

"Yes. He calls Eiko his mama Eiko, while I'm just mommy or mama. He knows Eiko is his biological mother, but he has no memories of her since she passed away."

Ren's eyes widened. He wasn't exactly Eiko's friend, but the little airhead wasn't so bad either. Hearing that she passed out somewhat broke his heart a little, especially knowing that she was Makoto's best friend.

"I'm sorry for your loss." He muttered.

She nodded quickly, her face twisting into an expression of grief. "Thank you."

The silence that fell over them was a sad one. Ren sat on that park bench, feeling completely out of his depth. He liked to think he was a good listener, but right now, his mind was all over the place. He had come here expecting to hear that it was thanks to his marriage with Sumire that Makoto withdrew from the group and that Akio was his son.

Such a selfish perspective on his part. He wasn't prepared for the whole truth of Makoto's life in his absence. It was so much more raw, worse, and horrifying than even he could imagine.

Immediately, he felt like a failure. He wasn't there for her.

But then, he stomped that feeling down, hard. Makoto didn't need his pity, nor did she need him to fix her. He wasn't God. He couldn't fix everything or everyone…

…But he could, at least, listen. Really listen.

Ren cleared his throat. "If you want to tell me more… Then I'm here for your troubles, dear confessor."

At that, Makoto let out a watery chuckle. "That's my line, you know?"

He gave her a tentative smile. "Of course, Miss Hanna."

She returned his soft looks and closed her eyes.

"Eiko." She started a few minutes later as she reopened her eyes, her voice choking up with a violent surge of emotion. "Had the shittiest luck someone could ever have. You see, she found out she was pregnant that same day I tried to end things for myself."

He watched her eyes lose their shine slightly, almost as if he was spectating her reliving that tragedy.

"At first the pregnancy was smooth sailing. But then she started to become really ill as it progressed. Eiko naturally went to her doctor for help. He told her most of her symptoms were pregnancy-related and completely dismissed her concerns…"

He scooted closer and looked in her eye, offering her his shoulder. Makoto leaned in and slotted her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder.

He held her on that cold evening, his free hand touching hers, running his fingers on the back of it.

"We were terrified because her symptoms only got worse over time, and we feared she was going to miscarry Akio. It got so bad, to the point that Sis had to run an intervention and bully the doctors into helping Eiko."

Beside them, Agnes slotted her head on Makoto's lap, as if sensing her distress. He saw her pet her canine friend fondly.

"Turns out, she had signs of cervical cancer that we only discovered when she was near the due date. The lateness of the diagnosis combined with the actual pregnancy made things worse for Eiko."

"Oh Makoto…" He whispered sadly.

"I didn't cope well. I immediately relapsed and drank myself stupid once when I thought both she and the baby were going to die and leave me behind. That was the first and only time I ever got slapped by Eiko when I told her my fears while in drunk hysterics." She said. "She told me to get my shit together, because she wasn't dead yet, and that the baby was going to be born happy and healthy, or God help her."

Ren squeezed her hand. He felt her snuggle up further.

"After that, I truly stopped drinking. To this day, I have never touched a single drink ever since, even when the urge to do it resurfaced from time to time. All for Eiko and Akio's sake." She recounted. "Fortunately, Aki-kun was born premature but healthy on Christmas, just a little underweight since they induced labor as early as feasible. Eicchan, on the other hand, had complications."

The tone of her voice let him know ahead of time that things took a turn for the worse. His heart ached for her.

"The first doctor's lack of empathy with her pregnancy complaints delayed all possible venues of early but safe treatment, and the following doctors always suggested termination of the pregnancy, something that Eiko always refused outright." She spoke a little hoarsely. "Once Akio was born, chemo was hard on her since her body was already frail from the strain of the pregnancy. Eventually, she just chose to stop all treatments when it was clear she was terminal. She died almost a year after Aki was born."

"I'm so, so sorry to hear that… That must have been painful. I guess I understand why you kept this all to yourself. Though… Do the others know?"

"Sae and Takkun know every single detail, as does Akechi. Futaba knows the contextual parts and the parts she was present for, but she never experienced the actual grittiest moments. Haru, Yusuke, and Morgana have been informed because… Well, that's an even longer story." She said while grimacing.

So, a confirmation that Haru knew. Now so many of her actions, subtle jabs, and responses whenever he prodded about the identity of Akio's father finally made sense.

"Ann knows the story now as well. I guess Boss and Ryuji are probably clueless about it all. But knowing Ann, Ryuji will know by tomorrow, so, yeah… I'm sorry for keeping this from you all. It was just too difficult and raw for me to work through it."

Ren contemplated her words. Was he happy he was the last one to know? No.

But what could he say? This was her life. He didn't suffer as she did. He had no right to feel hurt over this.

He eventually just sighed. "It's fine."

Makoto disentangled herself from him, looking him square in the eye.

"No." She said firmly, putting each hand on his shoulders. "It's not. I didn't put up an effort to fully disabuse you of the notion that you were Akio's father. I let my pride get in the way of being more honest and forthcoming."

Ren let out a self-deprecating laugh. "It's alright. I just arrogantly assumed he was mine because of the timing of events… But you did say to me that day I wasn't the father, I guess I just thought you were lying to preserve my marriage. Besides… I said some pretty awful things about you too. I'm sorry, I was selfish and insensitive that day."

Makoto sighed. "I wasn't in my right mind, either… Futaba has been pushing me to clear the air out for years now. Maybe I should've listened to her, but just the thought of facing you again… It hurt. You rejected me too many times."

That pained him deeply.

She had always been there, in the corner, waiting for him to come to her and claim her love for himself, but he always set her aside to chase his illusions with Sumire.

Ren shook his head to disperse his regrets and put his fingers under Makoto's chin as he gently traced the contour of her face. She leaned forward ever so slightly.

"I'm sorry I hurt you so much. I never wanted to do that." He told her, pouring his heart in his apology.

"I know. I forgive you." She said honestly.

He continued to trace the contours of her face, but deep down, he was starting to feel crushed with emotion. Makoto probably saw the raw look on his face, because she put her own hands on top of his, and squeezed them gently.

"It's alright to be sad and disappointed, Ren. I know that being a father is a dream of yours. I let you keep wondering if you had a son when you didn't. For that, I'm truly sorry." She told him, her voice full of regret.

Ren felt tears prickle at the corner of his eyes, both at her apologetic tone and at the painful reminder that Akio wasn't his.

"It's alright...I can still be Uncle Ren, right?" He whispered hoarsely.

Makoto crushed him in a strong hug, and he broke down in her arms.

After they disentangled from their embrace, Makoto watched on as Ren tried to recompose himself. She felt awful for crushing his hopes like that, but there was nothing that she could do.

She remembered Akechi's words.

'You did all you could for the boy.'

A part of her sometimes fantasized that Akio was her and Ren's baby from their little tryst. And that he would have stayed, and they'd raise him together. Ren would've been an incredible father for her little son.

She loved him so damn much. She wished she could be the mother of his children.

But sadly, dreams aren't reality. And in the end, she wouldn't want Aki-kun to be born any different than he is. He is all Eiko, and she comforted herself just by looking at his sunshine face.

"Thanks. I guess I needed to let that out." He said after he was a bit calmer. "Thanks for telling me the truth. And I'm sorry. For everything, and for being a poor friend."

"It's okay. It's… What is done is done. I'm sorry too, and I'm just glad you're here now."

He squeezed her hand. "I'm glad too."

A few minutes later, he gave her a quiet goodbye and walked away, the very picture of loneliness and defeat.

That night in bed, having revisited all her pain and remembering the look on his face, she cried until there were no more tears to be had.

Ren looked crushed the next day. If Futaba thought that his divorce was the peak of his devastation, she thought wrong. He seemed as if he was mourning.

She was sitting with him in the attic, playing Duel Masters to pass the time, but Ren seemed uninterested in the game.

"I know everything now. Makoto told me about Tomoe… And Eiko." He said quietly.

Ah. Shit.

Futaba sighed sadly. "Yeah. Eiko was nice, I sorta miss her."

"I can't believe she went through that. And… I guess I can finally stop pestering you now, huh? I'm sorry for having been so annoying."

She frowned, not liking his sad tone and defeated posture. "Hey, don't be like that… It's not your fault. Okay?"

Ren hung his head low. "I know. I just wish I hadn't wasted so much time."

Futaba hummed to herself. She understood where he was coming from, considering she could also qualify for "wasting" her time pining over Sumire. But at the same time, she couldn't let Ren drown in this kind of mentality.

"Look, Renren… You're better at this kind of stuff than I am. But… You can't plan or control every single aspect of your life, or the life of your friends. Bad shit happens all the time. " She said with a strong conviction. "Heck, you too had one hell of a hard time on Juvie all those years ago. Think about it Ren, we're all really fucked up, but we're still here trying, right? There's really no such thing as being "too late" if you're willing to try. Screw having a perfect, pre-planned life. Go with by the seat of your pants. Isn't that what Joker, the badass leader of the Phantom Thieves, would roll with?"

He chuckled, but then got sad again. "The thing is, I'm not that daring Joker anymore. I'm just lost, falling Ren now."

"Fuck that mentality, man. Just go to Makoto and say 'Hi beautiful, let's make some babies'. Then, throw her one of your shitty smirks and she'll fall like a wimp in your arms."

Ren glared at Futaba, and she returned the glare. They were at a stalemate, but her eyes widened as soon as she saw Ren's body shift ever so slightly.

Oh shit.

Ren bolted, trying to get her and Futaba shrieked, dodging his attack, but to no avail as he caught her. He started to give her a noogie.

"No! Wait! I was just joking, let go, let go!"

"Were you!?" He asked while laughing.

"Yes, pleaaaase!"

After their silly exchange, Ren and Futaba sat side by side on the couch of Leblanc, her head on his shoulder.

"I think I was an idiot." He mumbled.

"Not this again…" She said as she groaned.

"No, hear me out… I wanted Aki-kun to be my son. So I never really tried to see the full picture. I was too hyper-focused on that possibility to consider the things that didn't add up. Makoto would never drink while pregnant, alcoholism or not."

"Yeah, and I hope you know that, if he really was your son, I would've never kept that away from you. Keeping Makoto's secret when it's something that is just about her is one thing, but if you were involved, then that would change things completely. You're my brother."

"I know. Sorry for doubting you, gremlin."

She chuckled but soon felt saddened a little. Should she tell him about her crush on Sumire?

Maybe, but…

She didn't know if she was ready. Or if this was a good time, even. Ren seemed raw and wounded, and this whole thing with Makoto and his divorce was already taking a toll on him.

Futaba sighed. Ren looked at her, puzzled.

"It's nothing." She told him as she shook her head, then grinned deviously. "Anyways, can you just imagine the kind of kids you and Makoto would have? Akio is a perfect angel. Your spawns with her would all be little devils."

"Hey, that's no way to talk about your hypothetical nieces and nephews!" He retorted playfully.

Futaba rolled her eyes. "Hypothetical? My god Ren, weren't you bitching just now about wasting time? Just go woo the woman already! "

He gave her a pointed look. "I'm not in a good place, Futaba. I don't want to rush into this and scare off Makoto. Trust me, I love her… But I need some time to process what happened in both of our lives. The last thing I want to do is to hurt her more than I already did. I just want to repair our friendship first."

Futaba softened her looks. "I see… Well, yeah, that's a sensible thing to do. But just so you know, I'm rooting for the two of you. You're both the brother and sister of my heart and seeing you two happy would make me really fucking happy too."

Ren chuckled and drew her into a bear hug. "Thanks Futaba. I'm glad to have you in my life."

"Hey, don't say that kind of mushy shit!" She whined, and Ren started cackling in response.

Things were going to be alright. Futaba believed it.

Makoto blinked and watched as her big sister happily devoured the deep-fried chicken wings in front of her.

Sensing someone's deep stare at her, Sae gazed back at Makoto and threw her a puzzled glare. "What?"

"You seem really enthused to eat that," Makoto said dryly, looking down at her own fried mackerel.

Sae had pestered her earlier in the day to come along and spend some time with her old big sis. Takkun was watching over the kids so the sisters could have some bonding time, one-on-one. Sae took her to an old family diner in Chiyoda, where they used to come to with their father when they were little girls. Her sister was, apparently, craving some fried chicken.

"So what? It's really good. I missed it." Sae said honestly.

"Sure." Makoto opted to reply, then slowly picked on her food. It was tasty as she remembered it, but her heart just wasn't in it.

The conversation from yesterday evening still made her ache deeply inside.

"Cheer up, woman. You're still young and beautiful, nothing like this old hag here." Sae quipped, then hungrily bit on her chicken, moaning happily at the crunchy goodness.

Makoto rolled her eyes but cracked a little smile at her sister's quip. "You're still forty."

"I know. Horrifying." Sae said nonchalantly. "Yunchan said the other day that I was born old because of my hair color. That little shit."

At this, Makoto finally burst out laughing. "She is precious."

"She is," Sae readily agreed, but her gaze was firmly on Makoto's dish. "Are you gonna eat that?"

She shrugged and passed her plate to her big sis, deciding to just drink her water.

Sae dug in happily. "Oh my god, I forgot how good their mackerel was too!"

"Yeah." Makoto said with a bittersweet smile. "We should bring the kids and Takkun here next time."

"Of course. Maybe bring Amamiya along" Sae suggested as if she was merely talking about the weather.

Makoto crossed her arms. "There's nothing between me and Ren."

"So what? There doesn't have to be. Just bring him here because you like him. Don't make a big deal out of it."

"It isn't that simple." Makoto choked out, her voice strained with emotion. "There is too much history between us."

Putting her chopsticks down, Sae stared firmly into Makoto's eyes. "You're scared."

Makoto averted her eyes.

The silver-haired attorney sighed. "That's fine. And normal, honestly. But I would wager it isn't the end of the world either. Just live in the goddamn moment for once. Do you have any idea how much of my youth I have wasted being a class act asshole to myself and others? I'd say most of it. Yet here we are today. I'm honestly fucking happy with my life nowadays, even if my child makes me pay a lot for insurance. You'll get there soon too, just let go of all the bullshit and enjoy the ride."

That was the most post-palace Sae advice ever.

"I'll think about it," Makoto said finally.

Sae narrowed her eyes at her. "Whatever floats your boat. Now, let's go for dessert… Probably something with a lot of chocolate in it."

Makoto leveraged a single eyebrow at her sister. "Isn't that a lot of carbs and sugar you're inhaling today? Is there anything you'd like to tell me? "

Her big sister's eyes widened and she immediately protested. "No, don't start it, I'm not pregnant. Takkun and I truly stopped at Yukino, she is already one too many. I just haven't eaten all day, and I missed the food in this place, is all!"

"Okay, okay!" Makoto said with her hands up to placate her and decided to join her sister for some desserts.

Maybe she could use eating something sweet to cheer herself up after all.

"Thanks for reaching out to The Confessional. My name is Hanna, and I will be your personal priestess today." Makoto said, starting her shift later that night.

She heard a sniffle from the other side of the line. She imagined this person must be under a lot of turmoil and pain. Makoto let herself focus on them, for as long as they needed her.

"I'm here for your troubles, my dear confessor." She said with warmth and sincerity, trying to comfort the caller.

"...Hello. Sorry, I'm just… Today has been a really hard day, is all." The other person whispered, with a hoarse voice.

Makoto almost dropped her phone. Was that…?

She quickly recovered from her shock. "Don't worry, take your time."

"Thanks." The person said with sincerity.

Makoto closed her eyes and took a deep breath slowly releasing it to not make too much noise. She had a suspicion as to who the other person was.

"Okay… I'm ready to talk, Miss Hanna."

Oh… The way she intoned her nickname was quite deliberate. Did the other woman also realize that it was Makoto talking to her…?

"I'm here for you, my esteemed confessor." She replied in the end, trying to be kind and attentive even though she was getting nervous.

She had to be strong. Even if the other woman said something that ends up hurting her.

This is her job.

"Thank you. Today I fought with my mother. I forgot to meet my parents on the anniversary of my twin sister's death, and my mother threw it on my face today during lunch. It was an awful fight, because she prioritized the anniversary of her death over our birthday, which I also missed since I was on a work trip. She confronted me on my absence on both occasions and called me selfish and a myriad of other things I can't even say because it was just too horrible." She said with a sniffle.

"I'm so sorry you went through that, my dear confessor. Missing anniversaries and other occasions can happen, especially if we're having a hard time or other troubles at the time of missing it. Please, do not blame yourself for it." Makoto said, feeling genuinely sorry for her.

"I know, but I can't help but feel guilty. I was going through a rough patch in my marriage at the time and was taking some time to psyche myself up to ask for a divorce. It didn't occur to me until I met my mom today again that I ended up missing the date."

Makoto hummed to herself. "Were you and your sister very close?"

"Yeah, we were. But back when she was still alive, I also felt overshadowed by her as well. In recent years I have been trying to accept myself for who I am, and I've also been trying to appreciate the good things about my sister without any of the bad aspects coloring it."

Makoto thought that was relatable. "I can deeply resonate with that. I have an older sister that I used to compare myself to as well, but things changed after I found acceptance in who I am."

"Yeah… But the thing is that my mother doesn't make finding that acceptance any easier for me. She constantly compares me to my sister, and that makes me feel unloved by her. My father isn't the same way, but he barely does anything to curb her behavior either."

"My heart goes out to you, my esteemed confessor. I'm sorry you're going through so much pain alone." Makoto spoke with compassion. "Do you wish to talk about the difficulties in your marriage? Since that's the reason you seem to have missed the anniversary."

Makoto didn't want to open that can of worms, but it was her job to make sure she helped the person in need.

"…To be honest, that was also a long time coming. My ex-husband… I think he was deluding himself all this time, and trying hard to be my live-in therapist while still pining for another woman." The confessor said, her voice taking a slightly darker turn.

Hearing that, Makoto cringed violently but grounded herself with Agnes, who padded over and sat down by her feet to give her comfort.

The woman continued. "But he wasn't the only problem. I contributed just as much, if not more because I kept enabling him to do so. And I have been lying to myself as well, trying to hide the possibility that I wasn't as invested as I should've been in that marriage…"

"I-Is that so?" Makoto asked, accidentally slipping into her normal tone of voice and wincing after she realized she had done it.

"Yes. I think… I think I might be bisexual." Her confessor replied, not noticing or simply not caring about the slip.

Oh damn. Well, Makoto already knew that, but still…

"How do you feel about that?" She inquired

"Afraid. Scared. And a little anxious? I feel like my real self was being stifled, both because of my mother's expectations and…Some other mental health complications I had in the past. Needless to say, I just… I don't know. I want to explore that, but I'm also deathly afraid of things going wrong with my family and job because of that."

Makoto softened, her miss Hanna self emerging full force again. "That's understandable, my dear confessor. This is new territory for you, and change sometimes can bring us pain… But It can also bring us immeasurable joy. Do you find yourself excited in some manner at the consideration of exploring and understanding this side of yourself?"

"Yes!" The other woman said enthusiastically and Makoto found it quite endearing. "But my mother remains as the sole obstacle."

"In what way?" Makoto inquired. She had a hunch it was due to homophobia, but she had to prompt the confessor to tell her that instead of speculating about it.

"I have a hunch she had always known about my attraction towards other women, and the way she treated me all my life always reflected that. I don't know how I'll face my mother without her disowning me. She hated my ex-husband even though he was a man, I can't even begin to fathom how she'll deal with a possible future girlfriend of mine."

"I can see how that can be an intimidating factor for you, my dearest confessor. But if you allow me to offer you a piece of advice?"

"Yes? Please, anything!" The other woman asked eagerly. It seemed she finally relaxed in their conversation and was acting more friendly.

Makoto smiled as she said her next words. "You seem to have agonized much over this subject. I am sorry for all the pain you went through. Confronting this truth and being true to who you are is a brave thing, and regardless of her response, I believe you should take your mother aside and have an honest conversation with her. If anything, just so you can free your conscience of this weight."

"I believe you're right… I just don't know if I have the strength to face her."

"Hmm…" Makoto hummed to herself, then she smirked as she just had quite the sly idea. "Why don't you consider bringing a friend along to give you support when you go have that conversation? Someone you trust, or who might even have experience in accepting their sexuality?"

"Oh… Oh!" Her confessor gasped out, clearly surprised, but not in a bad way. "That's… I quite like this suggestion! Thank you, Hanna!"

Makoto smiled happily. "I'm glad this seems to be good advice for you. Is there anything else I can do for you, my most esteemed confessor?"

"No, I believe this was all I needed… I think I'll have to confront my mother once and for all. I just hope my friend accepts to help me."

"I'm sure they will. Especially if they are a compassionate person."

"She is." The confessor said with an oddly fond tone in her voice. "In any case, thank you for your compassion and kindness towards me… Makoto-senpai. "

Makoto let out a deep sigh but still smiled. "...I'm afraid I'm just Hanna, my dear confessor."

The other woman chuckled merrily. "If you say so, Miss Hanna. I must go now. Once again, thank you for this conversation."

"I'm glad. Here at the Confessional, we're always just one call away, ready to share your burdens."

"I'll keep that in mind! It's a lovely helpline. Good night, senpai." The woman spoke brightly.

Makoto grinned. "Good night, my dearest confessor."

Sumire Yoshizawa hung up, and Makoto covered up her face with her hands, then let out a muffled scream, a mix of mortification and amusement hitting her full force.

Her life sure was full of ironies.

To be continued…