"He's in the hospital... I'm sorry to hear about that." Mitsuya calmly says. You stare off into the distance and sigh.
"He's getting better... but my grandmother... she doesn't seem to have been okay. She never leaves his side. She looks like she lost weight and hasn't even slept." You slowly say.
"I can say the same about you." Mitsuya replies.
"I have been having a hard time eating and sleeping..." You say looking down at your shoes. Mitsuya leans back in the chair beside you and relaxes his arm on the desk.
"You really need to start working on yourself again... I know it's painful what you're going through but if you don't do anything you'll just get worse. You don't want to worry your grandmother... you know?"
You relax your eyes and slowly nod.
"Come on... let's get you something to eat." He says holding his hand out as he stands up. You take his hand, and he leads you out the classroom.
You both sit together at a table. A warm bowl of ramen in front of you. The smell makes your stomach rumble. You take the soup spoon and drink a bit from the broth. Your eyes water up a bit to the taste. It tastes so good.
"It's good isn't it?" Mitsuya chuckles. "I always love coming here when it's cold and when I have the money."
Tears form in your eyes and falls down your cheek. Mitsuya's eyes widen as he looks at you in confusion.
"You okay?"
"I'm a bad granddaughter..." You sniffle.
"Huh? What makes you say that?" He asks in a worried tone.
"... I barely spend time with my grandparents... and my grandpa- he almost died... my grandpa in almost lifeless in a hospital bed right now while my grandma is probably so hungry and lonely as she's sitting beside him worried... yet here I am... eating a warm bowl of ramen... I'm so selfish. I have been caught up in my own drama that I completely forgot about them." You shakily say as you try not to cry.
"..." He stares at you, unable to reply.
"It's like with my mother... I was barely able to do anything for her... I saw what was happening to her but I was useless and she died... when I could have done something..." Snot starts to drip from your nose and your face begins to get pink as you start to cry. "I'm so selfish and useless... I'm a bad daughter... a bad granddaughter... and a bad friend..."
"Yuki."
You shake your head, the soup spoon shaking in your hand.
"Hey." Mitsuya gently pushes your hand down and takes the soup spoon from your hand. "Relax... nothing is your fault... you aren't a bad friend... or daughter... or whatever else. Don't think that." You frown and begin to bawl. Mitsuya gets up and moves closer to you to comfort you.
"I think... I should just go..." You sniffle as you try to push Mitsuya away.
"... go where?" Mitsuya asks. You sit silently for a bit trying to think of an answer.
"... I don't know." You slowly answer. "I think I just want to go home and sleep."
"Are you sure?" He asks with a worried look on his face. "What about your food?"
"I will take it with me." You slowly answer as you stand up.
Back at the bakery, you place the bag down on the table in the living room. You fall down to your knees in front of the couch. A tired and heavy feeling in your eyes. You can't really tell what's happening anymore. You feel like you're forgetting something, but you can't remember what. You rub your eyes and sigh as you lay your head on the couch seat. Your phone begins to vibrate in your pocket causing you to slowly open your eyes. You slowly grab the phone, flipping it and checking what notification you got. It's from Chifuyu.
Chifuyu: We did it! Kisaki is no longer in Toman, and the Black Dragons are now a part of Toman. We should celebrate our victory together! We worked really hard. We deserve it, right Partner? ᕙ(⇀‸↼‶)ᕗ
You stare blankly at the screen before slowly dropping your hand down to your knees. You relax your head on the couch seat again and zoning out. Your phone buzzes again. Your eyes slowly drift towards it. Another text message. You lean down a bit to see it.
Hikari: Hey. Have you talked to your grandma lately? You should try to get her out of the hospital. I already tried she won't budge. Please, she hasn't eaten and she looks exhausted.
You look blankly at the phone before looking at the plastic bag on the table. There are two separate containers in it. One for the broth and the other for the noodles. You slowly push yourself up. You gently grab the bag and walk out the door.
You slowly walk in the hospital and stop at the desk, asking the lady where you could find your grandparents. After being told you head in the direction you were told to go. You softly knock on the door to hear your grandmother telling you to come in. When you push the door open you see your grandfather hooked up to a bunch of machines and your grandmother sitting tiredly next to him.
"Hi grandma..." You softly say. She looks at you with a soft look on her face.
"Yuki..."
"Hikari said you haven't been eating..." You softly say approaching her.
"I'm okay... I'm not hungry- I'm more worried about your grandpa."
"Well, I brought you food."
"No- no... I'm-"
"Please stop." You quietly say.
"Huh?"
"Stop pretending you are okay."
"..."
"I've lost my mom and you're the second closest person to a mother to me right now... I don't want to lose you too." You sniffle. Your grandmother looks up at you with teary eyes. "I don't think grandpa wants you sulking beside him... I'm sure he wants you to be healthy and well rested..." You continue. "You need to be healthy for him... for Hikari... for me... for yourself. You're worrying everyone grandma."
She frowns and leans forward, holding her hands over her eyes.
"Please just eat something." You add.
"No- you're right. I'm so tired... and I haven't showered in days." She sniffles. She stands up and hugs you. You stand stiffly, your arms dangling.
"I'm sorry for worrying you. I'm just scared..." She softly says. You wrap your arms around her.
"It's okay... I'm scared too..." You sigh.
You spent a good few hours with your grandmother before leaving. You slowly walk towards the bakery thinking about everything and its past events. Your brain feels foggy. A strange feeling swirling in your chest. You slowly cross the street towards the bakery, you stop in the middle of the street when you see a familiar face. Its Chifuyu holding a plastic bag. You quickly cross the street towards him.
"I looked everywhere for you... I was wondering if you-" Chifuyu gets cut off when you wrap your arms around him. His eyes relax after you hug him. "I heard what happened... with your grandpa."
"..."
"... I brought some curry... for you to eat. We can share if you'd like. I usually like to eat curry on a cold day..."
"..."
"Does that sound good?" He softly asks.
"Mhm..." You nod, still holding onto him.
You sit on the couch, legs crossed and a bowl of curry in your hand as you scarf it down.
"... when was the last time you ate?" Chifuyu calmly asks and he slowly sits down in front of you on the floor with his own bowl of curry.
"I doth no..." You muffle as you continue to scarf curry in your mouth. Chifuyu slightly smiles at you.
After finishing your bowl, you take a deep breath. Chifuyu takes the bowl from you and pours more curry and rice in it.
"Baji told me what happened... or well Mitsuya told him and I heard... so I've been worried... especially when you haven't been speaking to me... or anyone." Chifuyu calmly says.
"Yeah..." You slowly say as he hands you the bowl back. You pause before taking another scoop of food.
"Anything on your mind?" He asks as he watches you chewing your food. You slowly nod and swallow the food in your mouth.
"Remember Kasumi?" You ask, taking another bite of curry.
"Mhm... why?"
"I want to know more about her." You reply. Chifuyu tilts his head in confusion.
"What do you mean?" He calmly asks.
"I have a strange suspicion that she's not who she says she is..."
"Figured that... but what do you mean exactly?"
"Remember that guy came to us after meeting with Hakkai in the park?" You ask. Chifuyu nods and hums as he chews his food. "He mentioned a girl named Ayame... someone I didn't get along with growing up..."
"Right."
"... Ayame oddly has the same backstory as Kasumi."
"Huh?"
"Aim- I mean... Manami told me that Ayame lost her parents... the same story Kasumi told me." You softly say looking off to the window.
"I don't understand..." He replies. You look back at him.
"Kasumi... once told me she lost her parents and brother in a fatal accident... and Manami told me that Ayame lost her parents and brother in a fatal accident..."
"Who's Manami?" Chifuyu asks with a confused tone in his voice.
"Manami is Aimi..."
"Oh... wait... so you're saying Kasumi and Ayame are the same person?" He asks.
"I don't know... but there's something odd about the both of them..."
"So, you want to figure it out?" He asks. You slowly nod.
"If you don't want to help then that's okay." You say sadly looking down. "I just figured... I would tell you... hoping you would join me again... on another bizarre and ridiculous investigation." You chuckle sadly. He slightly smiles and leans forward causing you to look at him.
"I would be happy to work with you again, partner." He smiles. You smile back.