bonus chapter I.
telling her the truth.
before chapter 2o.
RAVEN.

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The moment I stepped in, empty regret filled my insides.

Everything was as it was when I packed my bags. The walls were painted in dull grey. Minimal furniture was a sign of how much energy the house had lost.

Only one element remained unchanged in the entire territory: the photo board.

A crash thundered from the hallway. I turned to the silhouette standing in the doorway, her eyes widening in fear. Regret. Bitterness.

"Satoshi?"

But her voice was clear, crisp even. Like she had expected this visit.

She crossed the room in three strides, stepping over the shattered remains of a tea mug with practiced ease. When she halted a foot before me, I froze. All words that had been stacked like the preamble Serena laid out fled when her fingers reached up. She didn't touch—just let her warmth hover beside my cheek.

"I wasn't expecting you," she admitted quietly, her voice barely making it to the walls. I doubted it was rusty with lack of use.

"I didn't plan on it either."

Her face fell.

"But I need to get this out, Mother."

Father and Red's photos were taped on the photo wall. More so than either of us. There was a clear absence of Mother's photo there. Just the wedding one, and one that had her smile frozen with the birth of Red in her arms. Time still cradled these memories as vain Polaroids.

"Do you want tea?" she offered, stepping back and letting her hands fall. Before she could retreat, I spoke up.

"I want to quit school."

Her whole body went rigid. Then, a soft smile. Feigned. Perfect.

"Anything you want, hun."

It was just like Serena predicted it would be. She'd agree with any of my demands so long as I stayed distant. In her eyes, I was an uncaring son, trying to forge a path that would fork away from what Father mapped out.

That was all I was.

"I want to attend a sports school," I continued. My fingers grazed the leather of my courage. It was snug, worn-in, and the only warmth in this house. "Do something I adore. Do something that will give us both a future."

The woman before me blinked, eyes welling. I didn't deter. This was the most crucial moment. I knew it was. Everything now depended on how I worded my next decision.

"I would like for you to come stay with me, wherever I'm going to."

Something thick blanketed over us. Aloof and unheeding. I shifted my weight from one foot to the other, gripping the leather bracelet on my wrist. The thoughts were growing louder, her words silent.

"...Is this really you speaking, Satoshi?"

Outside, a small drizzle started. Typical Kantonian weather. It had been harsh on the cab home. Now it was a trickle, reminiscent of the grains of sand slipping through measured time.

I nodded.

"I may or may not have had great support in school, but yes. I request from the bottom of my heart. Rather, I wish to stay with you, Mother. Reacquaint ourselves back to who we were before everything."

The tears flowed.

Not mine.

I held the tension behind the words carved on my bracelet.

"So would you... like to move in with me, Mother?"

The rain picked up, but inside, the warmth I didn't know existed melted my senses. I was in her arms again—maybe years later. A long, long time later, but still fulfilling. Still worth. Still the same.

"What makes you think I wouldn't like that, hun?" she whispered against my hair, her hand wildly running up and down my back. It was infuriating how stiff I felt then. "Yes. A million times, yes."

In the back of my mind, Serena's smile echoed. Maybe I didn't fail her after all.

Later, when the warmth subsided into an afterglow and the scent of lavender chai filled the air, Mother—Mom—sent me a tentative glance.

I caught on.

"Anything wrong, Mom?" I asked, cradling the warm mug in my palms. She shook her head, glanced into her own cup, then looked back at me, nervously.

"A friend of your dad lives in Kalos. His daughter is in a sports school too, I hear. Maybe she could get you in easily. What do you say?"

I nodded. There was no reason not to—except for the fact that I wouldn't be seeing the one person who had chipped at my walls...

You made this decision, Satoshi.

"Sounds good. Do I know her?"

Mom shrugged, placing her tea on the table. "Miette Marceau. Went to school with your brother, Red, till elementary." Her phone lit with a photo of a girl with short blue hair, her eyes a piercing vermillion. The smile she wore wasn't soft like Serena's. Rather borderline mischievous.

"Maybe, sure," I agreed, handing her phone back. The woman's eyes lit up before she started typing away. Maybe she couldn't wait a second longer to make things right. "I didn't really think you'd be so willing to agree to my demands..."

Mom looked up sharply, then her eyes softened around the edges. "What wouldn't I give to have one more breakfast with you, hun?"

That hit.

I averted my eyes, concentrating on a magazine that lay on the couch, unbothered for company. It was no longer needed...

"I assumed you didn't... wish to see the face of someone who... let your husband and your firstborn be eaten by the fire."

I hated how my voice cracked. Hated how Serena's pinky wasn't there to reassure mine silently.

Mom didn't speak for a while, letting the rain in the background fill the silence between us. When she poured herself another helping of her tea, her gentle voice carried through the fire-lit room.

"You don't realise how relieved I was to know I had one person to call my own, Satoshi. You wouldn't—not until you have a family you have created, hun."

That unsettled something in the atmosphere for the rest of the night.

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I imagine this is how Raven's confrontation with his mother goes. How did you imagine it did?

Thank you for reading!

Miyoko x