𝐇𝐢𝐝𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐆𝐨𝐣𝐨 || 𝐉𝐉𝐊

Ch. 37

   𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲, 𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐤𝐢𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫, 𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐚𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. The Gojo household felt incomplete once Rintaro's ending was written and finalized. Yet, the mournful mother couldn't forget her first, and only daughter no matter how many times she would be scolded to.

  How could she? She was arranged to marry their father. Yes, their mother loved the man she was forced to settle and play house with. She even began to adore him once he gave her their gifted twins. Those emotions fell through the day she had to hold her son down and watch as her lover killed their child. Satoru's first and only sister. Satoru's other half. Her other half.

   Watching the twins grow up and mature together for the six years they were able to, could be considered as the best years of her motherhood. The interactions she witnessed, showed her firsthand what true love was. And, it taught her that it couldn't be forced or learned. It had to be felt.

   And what she felt with Rintaro was pure love. The tragedy that split the two was out of her hands, and she desperately wished she had paid more attention to her husbands lack of presence. Maybe she could've prevented it if she questioned him and his jeopardizing decisions.

Their mother would never willingly let them take her memories of Rintaro. It ate at her that Satoru was void of his twins memory without his permission or second thought. But, it was seemingly the best decision they could've made for him moving forward. Until, he found her and remembered.

   The same could be said about locking Rintaro away; the last thing she wanted to do. But in order to keep her marriage and allow Satoru a chance with a decent life, she would have to pretend. Pretend every day of her life that she wasn't a complete fraud. A liar. A secret keeper.

   After all, the love she had for Rintaro was never lost. No matter what happened she continued to love Rintaro. She was the only one who kept good health and maintenance of Rintaro through all the constant torture. She wanted to allow Rintaro one ally. If it was anybody, it would be the one person who still contained deep love for her.

   What hurt the mother the most was being forced to witness what years of torture and abuse did to her poor child. As time went on, less words left her lips. Less food was eaten. Leaving her bones to only cling onto her skin with the absence of muscle or fat.

   "You two have grown so much. It makes me proud to see my blessings before my very eyes." The twins sat across from their mother on the floor of Suguru's unfamiliar dorm. All because their father lay knocked out on the floor of Satoru's dorm above, from Suguru's short temper.

Their mothers soft eyes looked back and forth between the two. Their similarities were always so easy to overlook when they had opposite hair colors. But, now that Rintaro's hair was almost fully white, their similarities were undeniable.

"I don't think I ever saw the day where you'd be together, again." Her eyes mentally burned holes in the carpet as melancholy memories of her husband yelling at her began to water her tired eyes. "But, seeing your fathers odds beaten, makes me so happy for you two, as well as so disappointed in myself."

   Satoru lifted his hand from his thigh and stretched his arm over his sisters shoulder and pulled her closer to him affectionately. "There's no need to dwell on that Okaasan, we hold no grudges."