"Daichi?" Sayuri whispered.
He didn't blink.
"Dad?" Hikaru stepped forward.
Nothing.
Kazuki sensed something terrible and grabbed Daichi's shoulders.
"What happened?"
Daichi's lips trembled.
His voice cracked.
"Acc… accident…"
He swallowed hard, eyes turning red.
"Kaito… Rin… Asuka… they met with an accident… they're… critical… the hospital… they said… critical…"
Sayuri shook her head violently.
"No. No. No. No. This can't—Daichi, SAY SOMETHING! WHAT DO YOU MEAN CRITICAL??!"
Daichi's face collapsed.
Tears finally broke free.
"I… I don't know… they're in emergency… whoever called… they said… very critical…"
Sayuri burst into tears.
Emiko covered her mouth in shock.
Kazuki stepped back like someone had punched him.
And Hikaru —
the one who always held himself together —
felt his legs weaken.
"M-Mom… Dad—let's go," he forced out, his voice dying in his throat.
"I'll drive. Everyone, get in the car."
Miyako reached for her father's sleeve, terrified.
"D–Dadda? What happened to aunty Rin? To Asuka? Why are you crying…?"
Daichi pulled her into a tight hug — tighter than ever before —
but he couldn't speak.
He couldn't lie.
He couldn't tell her the truth.
He couldn't answer at all.
Masayoshi and Reiko Hino arrived quickly, alerted by the chaos.
"Leave the children with us," Reiko said firmly.
"Go. Miyako will stay. Airi too. We'll take care of them."
Sayuri kissed Miyako's forehead, tears soaking her hair.
"I'll come back soon, Miya. Be a good girl, okay? I love you."
And just like that…
the car sped away.
Leaving Miyako standing at the gate, watching their taillights disappear.
Her heart felt tight.
Her hands trembled.
She didn't understand the full weight of the moment.
But she understood one thing —
something very, very bad had happened.
⭐ At the Hospital
The Yukishiros burst into the emergency ward.
"TAKAYAMA FAMILY—WE GOT A CALL! PLEASE—WHAT HAPPENED?!"
A nurse rushed to them, then called the doctor.
A man walked forward, wearing the expression every family fears.
"Please," Sayuri begged.
"Please tell us my sister… my brother-in-law… my niece… are they okay?"
The doctor exhaled heavily, avoiding their eyes.
"I'm… I'm truly sorry."
Silence.
The kind that kills.
"Except for the child… none of them survived."
Sayuri screamed.
A raw, animal-like sound tore from her chest.
Her legs gave out.
Daichi caught her, crying helplessly.
"No… no… NO! NOT RIN! NOT KAITO! NOT—"
Marina stumbled backward, shaking uncontrollably.
Kazuki punched the wall in agony, his knuckles bleeding.
Emiko fainted on the spot.
Genji grabbed her before she fell.
Hikaru's lips trembled.
He turned away, wiping his tears so the others wouldn't see —
but he failed.
Everyone broke.
Everyone shattered.
It felt like time had died.
Finally, Daichi whispered, barely breathing,
"What… about… Asuka…?"
The doctor nodded slowly, softly.
"She's alive. Barely. But alive."
"She's in a coma. However… she has a chance to wake up."
A small fragment of hope —
thin, fragile, trembling under the weight of tragedy.
They clung to it with shaking hands.
⭐ Hino House(miyako's maternal grandparents)
Miyako and Airi sat quietly on the couch.
Airi cried softly,
"Sis Miya… do you think mama is okay…?"
Miyako hugged her tighter.
"I don't know… I'm scared…"
Reiko brought warm tea they didn't drink.
Masayoshi held their hands, whispering:
"Your mother will call. Your father will call. Let's wait."
They waited.
Hours crawled.
Night swallowed the sky.
Miyako cried into her grandmother's lap.
Airi fell asleep holding Miyako's hand, tears still wet on her cheeks.
When the phone finally rang—
everyone jumped.
Sayuri's voice was broken beyond recognition.
"M-Miya… Asuka survived… but Rin… Kaito…"
Reiko covered her mouth.
Masayoshi bowed his head.
Miyako felt her heart stop.
"Aunty… Rin…?" she whispered.
"They're not coming back?"
Sayuri didn't answer.
And silence is the worst answer of all.
Miyako's chest hurt.
Her throat felt locked.
She didn't scream.
Sometimes children don't scream.
They just break quietly.
⭐ Days After — Grief Consumes the Home
The once cheerful Yukishiro house became a grave of memories.
Airi slept clutching her mother's scarf every night.
Marina cried until her voice disappeared.
Kazuki handled the funeral rituals like a machine — a broken one.
Emiko wandered hallways calling Rin's name before realizing Rin would never answer again.
Asuka eventually woke up screaming,
"MAMA!!! PAPA!!! WHERE ARE THEY?!"
Doctors held her down, sedated her, then warned:
"She must not remember the accident.
Even a single trigger can push her into deep psychological collapse."
So every member of the Yukishiro family devoted their life to healing her.
They surrounded her with love.
Smiles.
Gifts.
Trips.
Anything to keep her from sinking.
⭐ And Miyako… slowly faded into the background.
She stayed at the Hino house for weeks.
Her parents rarely visited — always "busy with Asuka."
Hikaru left for a long internship trip to drown his grief in work.
Airi had gone to her maternal home to cope.
And Miyako?
She waited.
For a call.
A message.
A "How are you, Miya?"
Nothing came.
Her birthday arrived.
Quiet.
Ordinary.
Forgotten.
Only Airi texted her,
"Happy birthday Sis Miya. I miss you."
She smiled at the message.
Then wiped her tears where nobody could see.
Her parents took Asuka to Disneyland —
the trip Miyako had waited for.
Doctors had insisted on cheerful outings.
Photos appeared in the family group chat.
Miyako stared at her screen—
her mother and father smiling at Asuka,
Asuka holding cotton candy,
Sayuri hugging her like a daughter.
Miyako whispered,
"I'm happy… really… I'm happy she's smiling…"
But her vision blurred.
Her breath shook.
She didn't hate Asuka.
She didn't resent her.
She was just…
a child who missed her parents.
A child who didn't understand why love suddenly felt so far away.
And she didn't know that this silent pain —
this quiet abandonment —
would become the foundation of everything she would become.
Everything she would lose.
Everything she would one day fight for.
Because on that day,
the day heaven looked away…
Miyako Yukishiro's childhood ended.